
mf*& 



AMERICAN PLUMBING 



A COMPLETE COMPENDIUM OF PRACTICAL 

PLUMBING, FROM SOLDER MAKING 

TO HIGH-CLASS OPEN WORK 



ALFRED REVILL 



ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK 

EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE 

29 AND 31 BEEKMAN STREET 







COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY 

EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE. 



*& 



£ 

^ 




CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

PAGE 

The Art of Plumbing in the Abstract 7 

PART II. 

Lead and its uses in Plumbing 11 

' Sulphurets 11 

Oxides 11 

Salts 12 

Lead pipe 14 

Sheet lead . 17 

PART III. 

Solder — Metals and Alloys— Fusing Points — Sol- 
der-making 18 

Fusing point of metals 18 

Melting points of different solder alloys 19 

Solder-making 20 

PART IV. 

Plumbers' Tools. 22 

The Plumber's bag 22 

Candlesticks 23 

Turn-pin 23 

Dressers 24 

Bossing-sticks 24 

Shave-hooks 24 

Soldering-irons 25 

Round iron 25 

Copper-pointed bolt 25 

Copper hatchet bolt 26 

Ladles 26 

Calking chisels 26 

(3) 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Looking-glass 27 

Bending pins 27 

Tap borer 28 

Compasses and caliper 28 

Soil cups 29 

Grease box 29 

Plumb bob 30 

Pot-hooks , c 30 

Compass saw 31 

Double-edged saw . . . . 31 

Hack saw 31 

Snips 32 

Washer-cutter , 32 

The brace , 33 

Furnaces 33 

Solder-pot 33 

Blast torch 34 

Alcohol torch 34 

Blow-pipes 35 

Monkey-wrenches 35 

Basin-wrenches 36 

Pipe-wrenches 36 

Pliers 37, 38 

Pipe-cutters 38 

Stocks and dies 38 

Bench vise 38 

Taps 39 

Crow 39 

Rubber force-cup 39 

Ratchet drills 39 

Solder moulds 40 

Tack moulds 41 

Chipping knife 41 

Cape chisel 41 

Cold chisel 41 

Duster 42 

Files 42 

Firmer chisel 42 

Mallet 42 

Plumbers' hammer 43 

Measuring-tape 43 

Screw-driver 43 

Wood chisel 44 

Drift-plugs 44 

Sand plugs 44 

Other tools 45 



CONTENTS 5 

PART V. 

PAGE 

Making Joints and Bends 46 

Preparation of wiped joints 49 

To wipe an underhanded joint 53 

The preparation of branch joints 56 

Taft joints 59 

Making joints with a blast-torch 61 

Soldering acid 64 

Bends 66 

Split bends 66 

Set-off bends 68 

PART VI. 

Traps 69 

Sanitas trap-cup, partition, and washer 76 

Sanitas full S-trap yy 

Beaumont brass trap for lavatories 80 

Du Bois traps 81 

The o-trap 82 

o Hunch trap 83 

The Adee trap 84 

-0 or half- v> trap 85 

Three-quarter co -trap of cast lead 85 

c/3-trap of cast lead 85 

Bell traps 86 

Antill's trap 86 

The bag trap 87 

Connolly's glass trap 88 

The principle of siphon age in traps 90 

Oval lip-traps 94 

Grease traps 95 

PART VII. 

Soil-pipes 97 

Cast-iron soil-pipe 101 

Wrought-iron soil-pipe 107 

PART VIII. 

Sewer Connection 113 

The peppermint-test 115 

The smoke-test 117 

PART IX. 
Vents 118 



6 CONTENTS 

PA RT X. PAGE 

Water-closets 120 

The Sanitas water-closet 123 

Soil-pipe connection 130 

Boyle's pneumatic closet 133 

Explanation 135 

The " Union " pedestal hopper (Boyle's patent) 137 

Back outlet wash-out closet 138 

Automatic closets 1 38 

PART XI. 

Sinks 141 

Plan of the Sanitas kitchen sink 142 

A kitchen sink 145 

Porcelain slop-sink, with trap and fittings made by the 

Sanitas Manufacturing Co 146 

PART XII. 

Cisterns for Water-closets, etc 147 

Beaumont's patent " positive " flushing cistern, for uri- 
nals, hoppers, and latrines 148 

Boyle's periodical flushing cistern, for urinals 150 

PART XIII. 

Bath-tubs 152 

An ideal bath-tub 153 

Shower-bath 1 54 

PART XIV. 

Wash-tubs 156 

A suggestion (diagram) 158 

PART XV. 

Kitchen Boilers 160 

Double boilers 165 

Boyle's patent cut-off, to take the place of a double 

boiler 166 

Boyle's patent cut-off (diagram) . . 167 

PART XVI. 

A complete Drainage Job 169 

Water-service pipes 171 

PART XVII. 

Plumbing Regulations 174 



AMERICAN PLUMBING. 



PART I. 

THE ART OF PLUMBING IN THE ABSTRACT. 

Plumbing as a trade has kept pace tolerably well 
with modern progress, although there is still much to 
be done in the line of improvement. No trade con- 
nected with house-building is of such importance as 
plumbing, the health of the tenants depending, we 
may say, almost entirely upon the sanitary appliances 
and their connections, which are used to convey all 
waste and foul matter into the sewer, and above all to 
prevent the entrance of noxious gases. 

It is the latter consideration which has caused an 
almost complete revolution of methods in plumbing. 
It was always, and is now, where the sewers are good, 
a comparatively easy matter to dispose of any refuse 
which will run through a pipe. A sufficient fall to facil- 
itate the rapid running of water is all that is required 
for that purpose. But when we are presented with the 

(7) 



8 THE ART OF PLUMBING IN THE ABSTRACT 

problem of letting refuse out, without permitting the 
gases, which inevitably arise, from coming in, we have 
before us the problem which it has become the plumb- 
er's province to solve, and which has produced the mys- 
terious and complicated looking system of pipes which 
are to be found in a modern dwelling. 

To the world at large, plumbing means little more 
than a knowledge of joining two pieces of lead pipe 
together, mainly for the purpose of enabling the pres- 
entation of a bill, the size of which, in its footing, is 
invariably said to be out of all proportion to the amount 
of work done. 

That this idea was partly true in connection with the 
old-time plumber is no doubt the case. It does not 
hold good now, however, and certainly not in a large 
city, where the ordinances are so framed that a plumber 
must know something beyond the ability to make a 
joint, or to put up a sink and connect it. 

A tremendous change has come over plumbers' work 
within the past few years, — a change which has resulted 
in better health, a lower death-rate, and which in time, 
as more improvements are adopted, may lead to a prac- 
tical extinction-of all those dreadful diseases, traceable 
in every case to defective plumbing, which allowed 
sewer gas to enter the dwelling. 

Go into a first-class modern residence, take a peep at 
its well-fitted bath-room with its highly polished exposed 
work and often very complicated sanitary appliances ; 



THE ART OF PLUMBING IN THE ABSTRACT 9 

bring in the old-time plumber and he would simply stand 
aghast at such an exhibition of magnificence, and no 
matter how skillful he may have been at the bench, he 
would find himself utterly unable to do a tithe of the 
work done by his modern brother in fitting up such a 
job. Sanscrit would be as simple to the old-timer as the 
connections and adjustments of modern appliances and 
fixtures. He would practically be compelled to learn 
his trade all over again, as the knowledge he previously 
gained would be but a very slight factor in plumbing a 
modern house. 

A visit to the New York Trade School would further 
serve to enlighten us as to what is expected of the 
plumber nowadays. The specimens of work done and 
shown there, demonstrate that not only is the modern 
plumber compelled to be as skillful as his predecessors 
ever were in the details of his craft, but he has to 
become familiar with applications of these details that 
his grandfathers never dreamed of, and would not have 
understood if they had. 

The survival of the fittest holds good in plumbing as 
in everything else, and the young man desirous of be- 
coming a plumber, who leaves the study and comprehen- 
sion of sanitary devices to the manufacturer and the 
architect, will never be able to compete with the plumb- 
er who prepares himself for his profession by an intelli- 
gent course of study, that will enable him to thoroughly 
grasp the raison d'etre of all the appliances he employs 



10 THE ART OF PLUMBING IN THE ABSTRACT 

The following pages, therefore, while thoroughly prac- 
tical as to details, are tuned to the modern pitch and 
designed to convey the truth, that sanitary science and 
plumbing are synonymous. 

We are indebted to the Plumbers' Trade Journal for 
many illustrations in this work. 



PART II. 

LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING. 

ALTHOUGH blacksmithing is always supposed to be 
the oldest trade, making iron the first metal used, it is 
more than probable that lead was the first metal discov- 
ered. It was called Saturn by the ancients, and it was 
certainly used by the Israelites, as they made leaden 
statues of the leaden spoils taken from the Midianites. 
According to geology lead is found in the primary and 
transition rocks (except trap-rock), also in porphyry, sye- 
nite, and the lowest sandstone. It is found occasionally 
with coal. 

Galena, or sulphide of lead, is the correct name for 
lead ore ; it is found all over the globe, and is by the 
application of heat resolved into pure lead. The follow- 
ing is a list of the different kinds of lead known to 
chemists : 

SULPHURETS. 

1. Galena. 

2. Blue lead ore. 

3. Black lead ore. 

OXIDES. 

1. Earthy ore of lead. 

2. Arseniated Protoxide. 

3. " Peroxide. 

(11) 



12 LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING 

SALTS. 

1. Carbonate. 

2. Muriacarbonate. 

3. Sulphate. 

4. Phosphate. 

5. Molybdate. 

6. Arseniate. 

7. Arsenio-phosphate. 

8. Chromate. 

The first is by far the most valuable, and from it is 
obtained nearly all the lead of commerce. Large quan- 
tities are produced in the United States. Pure galena 
contains 86.55 parts of lead and 13.45 of sulphur. It is 
frequently impregnated with other metals, such as silver, 
iron pyrites, antimony, gold, etc. Silver is the most fre- 
quent, and is extracted in quantities varying from one to 
eight per cent., though the latter is rarely the case ; two 
per cent, is a good paying quantity when lead is worked 
for silver. There are many ways of obtaining the silver, 
etc., from lead, but as the plumber has to do with lead 
alone, we will confine ourselves to its uses in his trade. 

Except for bullets, the ancients used lead in much 
the same way as we do now — that is to say, they made 
lead pipes and used them for water ; they also made 
sheet lead for roofs, and put it on just as we do. 

Chemically considered, the peculiarities of lead are as 
follows : Its symbol is Pb., from the Latin word Plum- 
bum, which means lead, and from which is derived the 
word plumber ; its EQUIVALENT is 103.56, 



lead and its uses in plumbing 13 

Combining weight, 207. 

Specific gravity, about 11.45 (it varies according to 
circumstances). 

COLOR, bluish gray. Its density is reduced by ham- 
mering, for the reason that it becomes heated, and opens 
its pores. 

The FUSING POINT varies from 594 to 635 Fahren- 
heit, but is generally about 612 . If heated to fusion 
in the open air it becomes covered with a thin oxide of 
iridescent colors. A very strong heat will cause it to 
boil and evaporate. 

Malleability. — It is the seventh among metals. 

Its ELASTICITY is very small ; it has no musical sound 
when struck, as other metals have. It contracts when 
cooled, can be permanently enlarged by heating, is the 
worst conductor of the seven common metals, and for 
the last reason is very useful for hot-water pipes. 

Its TENACITY is very low, about A that of iron. 

Lead when exposed to the action of damp air turns 
to a dark color {protoxide, or Pb. O.) ; if the exposure 
be prolonged, it becomes white lead, which is caused 
by the carbonic acid in the atmosphere ; it is therefore 
necessary to make the covers of lead cisterns of some 
other material. Dry air does not affect lead. 

Lead traps and pipes must be perfectly ventilated in 
order to prevent corrosion. As decay is certain to take 
place through chemical action, the most perfect ventila- 
tion must be maintained. A well-ventilated trap will 



14 LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING 

last twenty times as long as a trap which is not venti- 
lated. It is the confined carbonic acid gas which cor- 
rodes the lead, and soon causes the surface of a trap 
above the water-line to become a mass of oxycarbonate 
of lead, which is deposited in white scales. 

Many kinds of water corrode lead very quickly and 
form a deadly poison ; where this is the case it is well 
to lime white leaden cisterns and leaden pipes which are 
to contain water. This will form a crust on the lead, 
and protect it from the action of corrodable waters. 

Lead is readily dissolved in nitric acid. 

A pig of lead is three feet long, and varies in weight 
in different countries. A fotder, or fodder of lead, is 
about a ton weight, but neither term is definite. 

A few words as to lead poisoning may not be out of 
place. It may be introduced into the system in the 
form of fumes, with the food, or by drinking water which 
has passed through leaden pipes ; it shows itself by the 
blackness of the teeth, violent pains in the bowels, limbs, 
and muscles, and after several attacks causes paralysis 
and death. 

LEAD PIPE. 

Lead pipe was formerly made in 1 2-foot lengths, but 
now, by virtue of improved machinery, is made of any 
length and of any gauge. Like all other materials, it 
varies in quality ; a hard, tenacious metal, weight for 
weight, will stand more pressure than a soft one. There 



LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING 



15 



is no reliable theory whereby the actual strength of lead 
pipe may be ascertained. The following table is worked 
out from actual experience. 

The length for a coil of lead pipe from J^ of an inch 
to i inch in diameter, is 60 feet ; from i 1 ^ to 2 inches, 
the bundle is 36 feet long. On account of the weight 
larger sizes are made in lengths only, as follows : 



15 Feet Lengths. 



Diameter of bore in 


Weight of length 


Safe for a column of 


inches. 


of 15 feet. 


water, in feet. 


X-inch. 


20 lbs. 


600 feet. 


H il 


15 " 


50 « 




" " 


20 " 


250 ' 




" " 


25 " 


500 ' 




'A " 


14 " 


50 ' 




tt tt 


18 " 


100 ' 




tt tt 


20 " 


200 ' 




u '* 


22 " 


300 • 




" " 


25 " 


400 ' 




tt tt 


28 " 


500 ' 




It tt 


30 " 


600 ' 




% " 


18 " 


100 ' 




tt tt 


22 " 


200 ' 




tt tt 


30 " 


500 ' 




u ;; 


22 " 


40 ' 






24 " 


80 ' 




« tt 


26 " 


100 ' 




u u 


28 " 


150 • 




u tt 


32 " 


250 ' 




u » 


36 " 


35o ' 




u u 


42 " 


500 ' 




u u 


45 " 


600 ' 




1 " 


30 " 


30 ' 




a tt 


# 36 " 


60 ' 




^ a 


* 42 " 


100 ' 




^ u 


48 " 


200 ' 




^ a 


56 « 


305 * 




tt ^ 


60 " 


400 ' 




tt tt 


64 " 


450 • 





16 



LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING 



12 Feet Lengths. 



Diameter of bore in 


Weight of length 


Safe for a column of 


inches. 


of 12 feet. 


water, in feet. 


i % -inch. 


36 


bs. 


25 feet. 


" " 


42 


" 


60 « 


«« a 


48 


" 


120 " 


<< tt 


52 


" 


250 " 


" " 


60 


" 


500 " 


\H ;; 


36 


" 


20 " 




48 


" 


50 " 


" " 


5 


" 


IOO " 


« « 


72 


" 


250 " 


« « 


84 


" 


400 " 


« t< 


96 


" 


550 " 


i-X " 


72 


" 


IOO " 


" " 


84 


" 


200 " 


" " 


96 


" 


300 " 


2 '' 


36 


" 


15 « 


" " 


56 


" 


50 « 


" " 


64 


" 


80 " 


<( (< 


72 


" 


ICO " 


" " 


84 


" 


200 " 


" " 


96 


" 


300 " 


" " 


112 


" 


400 " 




120 




500 " 



Lengths of 10 feet weigh as follows : 

2>£ inch bore weighs 36, 70, 84, 96, 112, 130 lbs. 
3 

yA " 

4 

4 l A " 

5 



42, 60, 80, 100, 112, 120, 130, 140 lbs. 

56, 90, 112, 120, 130, 150, 160, 180 lbs. 

56, 70, 80, 112, 140, 150, 170, 180, 200 lbs. 

60, 84, 112, 140, 170, 200, 220 lbs. 
170, 200, 234, 254, 280 lbs. 
300 lbs. 



The two last are used for pumps only, also the heavier 
weights of the smaller diameters. 



LEAD AND ITS USES IN PLUMBING 17 

SHEET LEAD. 

Lead which is to be milled is first melted and cast in 
an iron pan about 7 feet by 5 or 6 feet, and from 5 to 6 
inches deep, according to the material required when 
finished. It is then (when cold) passed as many times 
between the rollers of a lead-rolling mill as may be re- 
quired to reduce it to the correct thickness. After fin- 
ishing, the sheets are rolled up, weighed and stamped, 
the number, length, and thickness (or gauge) in pounds 
per square foot. Sheet lead, however, never runs exact 
as to weight ; it is generally thick at the ends. 

Following is the thickness of sheet lead to square 
foot, and while the table is not precise, it is near enough 
for all practical purposes. 

A cubic foot of lead weighing 709 lbs. will give : 

A square foot 1 inch thick .... 59 lbs. 

" A " 8 « 

" - * " 7 l A " 

" A " 6 « 

" tV " 5 " 

" A " 4 " 

tin X it o <« 

"2 0" ■ 3 

Lead }& inch thick is what is known to plumbers as 
7 lb. lead. 

Sheet lead is rolled sometimes into what is known as 
laminated lead and lead-foil. It can always be distin- 
guished from tin-foil, as the latter is far more crisp. 



PART III. 

SOLDER— METALS AND ALLOYS— FUSING POINTS— 
SOLDER-MAKING. 

Solder is an alloy which is used to join pieces of 
metal together. It is available for that purpose because 
it melts at a comparatively low temperature. After 
lead it is the most important substance with which the 
plumber has to do. 

Although it may be purchased ready prepared for 
every kind of use, it is well for the plumber, especially 
in a country shop, to know how to make it. First, how- 
ever, we will give a table showing the fusing point of 
all the common metals. 

FUSING POINT OF METALS. 

Antimony Melts 810 deg. Fahr. 

Bismuth " 500 

Copper " 2,000 " 

Iron " 2,912 

Lead " 612 

Silver ., " 1,832 

Tin " 428 

Zinc " 773 " . 

Water Boils 212 " 

Mercury " 662 " 

(18) 



SOLDER, METALS AND ALLOYS, ETC. 



19 



It will readily be seen that in order to solder any 
metal, we must use a solder the melting point of which 
is lower than that of the metal to be soldered. The 
following table, compiled with the greatest care, can be 
depended upon : 

MELTING POINTS OF DIFFERENT SOLDER ALLOYS. 









BIS- 


MER- 


CAD- 


MELT. 


NAME OF SOLDER. 


LEAD. 


TIN. 
















MUTH. 


CURY. 


MIUM. 


POINT 














Fahr. 




20 










550 




10 












530 




5 












510 


Coarse 


3 

2 












480 


Plumbers' 












440 


Fine 


! 












370 
330 


Tin pipe . 


I 


IK 












I 


2 










340 




I 


3 










350 




I 


4 










360 




I 


5 










375 




I 


6 










380 




4 


4 


I 






330 


Pewterers' 


3 

2 


3 

2 


I 






315 

290 




I 








1 


1 


I 






250 




2 


1 


2 






234 




5 

1 


3 
1 


8 

2 






212 
201 




3 


5 


3 






200 




3 


2 


5 






199 




1 





4 


% 




185 




6 





7 






180 




3 


2 


5 






167 




4 


2 


7 A 




a 


150 




3 


5 


3 


3 




122 



Expanding metal is made of : 

Lead 9 parts. 

Antimony 2 " 

Bismuth 1 part. 



20 SOLDER, METALS AND ALLOYS, ETC. 

This expands on cooling. 

It is the antimony which expands, but antimony alone 
would be of no use. 

To mix lead and zinc, use arsenic. 

To harden lead, use tin or zinc. 

To increase the tenacity of lead, use 12 parts lead and 
I part zinc. 

To separate lead from zinc, heat to a white heat. The 
zinc will volatilize and the lead remain. 

SOLDER-MAKING. 

To make plumber's solder, take one cwt. of lead 
(scraps and cuttings), melt it, and remove all the dirt 
and dross. Then take 56 lbs. of tin and melt it also ; 
throw in y 2 lb. of black resin, heat the whole to about 
600 degrees, and stir it well. You can tell when it is 
hot enough by inserting a piece of newspaper, which 
should blaze quickly. Pour the mixture into moulds, 
which can be purchased of any plumbers' supply house. 

To make fine solder, mix half lead and half tin. It 
melts at 370 Fahr. 

Blow-pipe solder is made of 1 part lead and 1% parts 
tin. It melts at 330 Fahr. Blow-pipe solder is always 
made into small strips or rods. Get an old iron ladle 



SOLDER, METALS AND ALLOYS, ETC. 21 

and bore a hole in it }i of an inch in diameter, and let 
the hot solder run through it on to a sloping slab. 

Always be careful to have no zinc anywhere around 
your implements when making solder. 

Bad solder is that which has been burnt or contains 
zinc. Some solder will work well for about six or ten 
heats, and then spoil, becoming coarse, like sawdust ; by 
adding more tin it can be made workable. 



PART IV. 

PLU MBERS' TOOLS. 




Fig. I. 

THE PLUMBER'S BAG. 

These bags are used for carrying tools to work, and 

are best made of good Brussels carpet. An ingenious 

plumber could easily make one for himself, but they can 

be bought all ready for about $3. 
(22) 



plumbers' tools 



Fig. 2. 

CANDLESTICKS. 
The most useful form is shown in the drawing. It 
can be made to hold itself in almost any position by 
means of the spurs. 




Fig. 3- 



TURN-PIN. 



Without the turn-pin, a plumber who has a joint to 
make would be helpless. They are made of hickory or 
boxwood, and should always be taken good care of. 



24 



plumbers' tools 




Fig. 4. 
DRESSERS. 
The dresser is for use in beating lead to render its 
surface even. 




Fig. 5. 
BOSSING-STICKS 
are used to beat up bends, etc., and for shaping lead 
generally. 




Fig. 6. 



SHAVE-HOOKS. 
Shave-hooks are of all shapes, with square holes in 
the centre for the purpose of fastening them to the han- 



PLUMBERS' tools 



25 



die, which is made with a nut for the purpose. There 
are other shave-hooks of various shapes but smaller, 
and come fastened permanently into a handle. 

SOLDERING-IRONS. 
Soldering-irons, technically called " irons," are of 
various shapes, according to the work to be done. 
Following are cuts of the three important irons, with 
their names. 




Fig. 7- 

ROUND IRON. 

This is an iron to be found in every plumber's shop. 

Its shape is such that places which could not be reached 

with any other iron are comparatively easy to be got at. 

It retains the heat more or less according to size. 



Fig. 8. 

COPPER-POINTED BOLT. 
This bolt, and another known by the same name, but 
which is shaped like a chisel, are shown without the 
handles. Roofers use the same tool, but much blunter 
at the point. 



26 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 




Fig. 9. 

COPPER HATCHET BOLT. 
Is for the same purposes as the copper bolt, but its 
shape enables it to be used where the other could not. 



Fig. 10. 

LADLES. 
The ladle is of various sizes, from 2^ inches across 
to 8 inches or larger. It is used to dip melted lead or 
solder from the melting-pot. Do not use it to melt sol- 
der in ; it is not meant for that purpose, and should 
always be kept clean. 



Fig. n. 

CALKTNG CHISELS. 
Calking chisels are used for driving the oakum or 
lead into spigot and socket joints, which are used for 
joining soil-pipe, and will be explained later on. A 



plumbers' tools 27 

yarning iron is a similar tool, but much thinner and 
longer from the offset to the point. 

Picking chisels are used to take the lead and oakum 
out of a joint which is to be remade. 




LOOKING-GLASS. 
A looking-glass must be carried in every plumber's 
kit. It is used for the purpose of seeing the back or 
under side of joints, etc., which cannot be reached by 
the eye direct. 




Fig- 13. 
BENDING PINS. 
Bending pins and kinking irons are made of steel of var- 
ious shapes, straight, bent at one end or bent at both ends. 



28 



plumbers' tools 




Fig. 14. 



TAP BORER. 
The tap borer is a very useful tool for enlarging and 
tapering a hole for the insertion of a tap, faucet, spigot, 
or branch joint. 






Fig. 15. 



COMPASSES AND CALIPER. 
Compasses need no description, their use is obvious. 
Calipers are used to measure diameters, and are made of 
all sorts of shapes and sizes for inside and outside meas- 
urement. 



PLUMBERS' TOOLS 



29 




Fig. 16. 

SOIL CUPS. 
Almost any receptacle does for the purpose of hold- 
ing soil, but they are made of seamless metal, and sold 
by the supply houses. A good plumber will certainly 
use no makeshifts. 




Fig. 17. 



GREASE BOX. 
The drawing shows a grease box made in three divi- 
sions. It will hold resin, paste, and grease. 



30 



plumbers' tools 




Fig. 1 8. 



PLUMB BOB. 



This instrument is indispensable for the correct run- 
ning of pipes, especially those that are perpendicular. 




Fig. 19. 



POT-HOOKS. 



Pot-hooks are simply used to lift the pot from the 
fire, and are very necessary. Don't get slovenly and 
use the hammer. 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 



31 




Fig, 20. 



COMPASS SAW. 



The compass saw is used to cut circular holes in 
wood-work for the passage of pipes. 




Fig. 21. 



DOUBLE-EDGED SAW. 



The double-edged saw is very useful, as it combines 
two tools in one, — a saw for metal and a saw for wood. 



HACK SAW. 

No shop can get along without this tool, which is 
used on every kind of metal (don't try it on hardened 
steel). If you have to cut a brass tube, or any tube, the 
metal of which is light, use an old blade ; if the teeth 
are all gone, so much the better. A new saw will lose a 
majority of its teeth in the first application to a thin 
metal tube. 



32 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 




Fig. 22. 



SNIPS. 



Snips, so-called, are shears with a short blade and long 
handle, and are used for cutting sheet metal. They are 
also made with curved blades for circles. 




Fig. 23. 



WASHER-CUTTER. 



Every plumber should possess a washer-cutter. It is 
used in the brace, and by setting the two knives will 
cut any size washer from leather. 



plumbers' tools 33 

the brace. 
A ratchet-brace is the best. They are now sold so 
cheap that it is scarcely worth while to bother yourself 
with an inferior brace. By means of the ratchet-brace 
you can bore a hole in any corner, which is impossible 
with the old style brace. What is called an angular 
borer is also sold. It is used with the brace, and will 
bore a hole " around the corner." 

FURNACES. 
A charcoal furnace is generally used on the job. 
There are gas furnaces, etc., made for use in the shops. 
There are also blast furnaces, which use naphtha, and are 
useful when a quick heat is wanted. 




Fig. 24. 
SOLDER-POT. 

Solder-pots are made usually of cast-iron of various sizes. 



34 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 



BLAST TORCH. 

This "tool is used for making the joints known 
blown and burnt joints. 




Fig. 25. 



ALCOHOL TORCH. 



The alcohol torch is for use with the blow-pipe, and 
is used for blown joints. 



c 



PLUMBERS' tools 35 



Fig. 26. 



BLOW-PIPES. 
The proper use of the blow-pipe requires considerable 
practice. Workmen accustomed to its use can be seen 
causing a constant stream of air to pass through it, and 
if asked how they do it, always evince a disinclination 
to tell. The secret is simple, and by following the direc- 
tions given, you can, after a while, learn the knack. 
When blowing, do so with two objects: first, to cause the 
air to go through the pipe ; and, here lies the secret, 
second, to fill the mouth with air at the same time. 
The object of this is : You must breathe, and the 
breath must be drawn through the nostrils. Now, while 
you are drawing your breath your mouth is full of air ; 
by using the cheeks as bellows you can make the air in 
your mouth keep up the stream while you are taking in a 
fresh supply through the nose. The author was a long 
while finding out how to do this, but no one told him 
the method. 

MONKEY-WRENCHES, 

also known as screw-wrenches. There are numberless 
styles, each one of which is claimed by the manufactu- 
rer to be better than any other. They are all good when 
properly made. 



36 PLUMBERS' tools 




Fig. 27. 



BASIN-WRENCHES. 



Buzzell basin-wrenches are the best, and have entirely 
superseded the old style. 

PIPE-WRENCHES. 

Of all the pipe-wrenches in existence the Stillson 
seems to have been awarded the palm. Some of the 
plumbers' Unions, when making a list of tools which a 
journeyman should possess, even specify the " Still- 
son " wrench. There are others, of course, notably the 
" Briggs," the " Barnes," the " Rouse," and the "Arm- 
strong." The principle is the same in all, and the object 
is to make the wrench grip the tighter the harder you 
pull. Monkey-wrenches are of no use whatever on pipes 
or anything that is round. 

Pipe tongs are used for the same purpose as pipe- 
wrenches. 



plumbers' tools 



37 



PLIERS. 

Four kinds of pliers are shown, as follows : 




Fig. 28. 
END-CUTTING PLIERS. 



Fig. 29. 
SIDE-CUTTING PLIERS. 



Fig. 31. 
GAS PLIERS. 




38 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 




Fig. 32. 
BURNER PLIERS. 



PIPE-CUTTERS. 
Pipe-cutters are made with either wheels or knives to 
do the cutting. With them gas-pipe can be very easily- 
cut. 

STOCKS AND DIES. 

Stocks and dies are used for cutting screw-threads on 
pipes. Machines are also made, costing as high as $100, 
which cut and thread pipes by turning a crank. 




Fig- 33- 
BENCH VISE. 
Bench vises are of many styles. The one shown in the 
illustration is perfectly reliable. A pipe-vise is on the 



PLUMBERS' TOOLS 39 

same principle, but is made with jaws especially shaped 
to hold pipes of all sizes. 

TAPS. 

Taps are tools used for threading the inside of pipes, 
nuts, etc., etc. A tap-wrench is to hold the tap, and 
should never be used for any other purpose. 

CROW. 

The crow is used in drilling and tapping street-mains, 
etc. It grips around the pipe, and is provided with a 
screw for the purpose of forcing the drill into the iron 
pipe as it cuts. 

RUBBER FORCE-CUP. 

This is very useful, especially for sinks. In using it, 
it is placed over the sink outlet and by forcing it down, 
is supposed to compel the water and stoppage in the 
pipe to move. A sink stoppage, ninety-nine times out 
of one hundred, is caused by accumulations of grease 
and dirt in the trap. Take out the trap screw and clear 
the trap first ; if that does not work, then try the force- 
cup. A good dose of lye will clear grease away. 

RATCHET DRILLS. 

Ratchet drills are for use in connection with the crow 
for boring pipe. 



40 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 



SOLDER MOULDS. 




Fig. 34- 

This mould is used to cast the solder into convenient 
shape for use with the irons or torch. 




Fig. 35- 

This mould is for solder intended for use with the 
ladle. 

The above drawings of solder moulds, Fig. 34 and 
Fig. 35? need no further explanation, as they are simply 
for the purpose stated. 



plumbers' tools 



41 



TACK MOULDS. 
Plumbers' tacks are usually about the first thing an 
apprentice is set to work to make. They are either sin- 
gle or double, besides what is known as a " side tack." 
Tacks now come ready-made of all kinds, and are in 
many cases much to be desired, especially where they 
dispense with the use of solder. 




Fig. 36. 
CHIPPING KNIFE. 



Fig. 37- 
CAPE CHISEL. 



Fig. 38. 
COLD CHISEL. 

The cold chisel is used to chip iron pipes, or to cut 
them in two. It is a most necessary tool. 



42 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 




Fig- 39- 
DUSTER. 



Fig. 40. 
FILES. 
Files and rasps are of all sorts and sizes. Those files 
which are of a coarse cut are mostly used by the plumber 
on lead. The finer files are for brass and iron. 



Fig. 41. 
FIRMER CHISEL. 

This chisel is made in one piece of metal without a 
wooden handle, especially for plumbers' use. 




Fig. 42. 
MALLET. 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 



Fig- 43- 



PLUMBERS HAMMER. 



There are many kinds of hammers, but the shape 
shown in Fig. 43 is the most useful for a plumber — the 
face and peen being specially adapted to his work. 




Fig. 44. 

MEASURING-TAPE. 

For measuring lengths of lead pipe the measuring- tape 
is much to be preferred to a two-foot rule, which requires 
a mark at every two feet. A small fraction wrong in 
each will amount to considerable in a long length. 




Fig, 45- 
SCREW-DRIVER. 



44 



PLUMBERS TOOLS 



Fig. 46. 
WOOD CHISEL. 

These are the same chisels as are used by carpenters, 
and are made for use with a wooden handle. 




Fig- 47. 
DRIFT-PLUGS. 

Drift -plugs are round pieces of wood, varying in di- 
ameter according to the size of the pipe in which they 
are to be used. They are for the purpose of straighten- 
ing out kinks, and are driven through the pipe by 
means of a rod or anything of slightly smaller diameter. 

SAND-PLUGS. 
Sand-plugs are used to stop up the ends of a pipe 
when sand is used for bending. 

Besides the tools already illustrated and described 
there are many others ; some of them indispensable, 



plumbers' tools 



45 



and the remainder sure to be wanted at some time or 
other in plumbing, viz. : 



Augers. 

Bits. 

Brad-awls. 

Chalk-line. 

Clark's expansion-bit. 

Gimlets. 

Level. 



Pocket-knife. 

Rasps. 

Scratch-awl. 

Soil-brushes. 

Two-foot rule. 

Two-foot steel square. 

Trowel. 



We have now given a pretty complete list of the tools 
which a plumber must know how to use. 

All the tools mentioned can be obtained from C. S. 
Osborne & Co., Newark, N. J. 



PART V. 

MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS. 

There are several kinds of joints used by plumbers, 
according to circumstances ; the names are as follows : 

Overcast joint, also known as striped joint. 

Flange joint, or taft joint. 

Underhanded joint. 

Upright joint. 

Copper-bit joint. 

Blown joint and burnt joint. 

Astragal joint. 

Lead joint. 

Wiped joints are supposed to be the perfection of 
joint-making. There is no good reason, however, for 
this supposition, as under many circumstances the cop- 
per-bit or blown joint is equally efficacious. 

The tools used in making joints are the turn-pin, 
saw, rasp, shave-hook, fixing chisels, clamps, and the 
cloth or cloths. 

The saw, which should be from 15 to 18 inches long, 

is used to cut the leaden pipe square across ; then take 

your knife and cut all the ragged or jagged bits of lead 

from the inside of the pipe, being careful that none of 
(46) 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 47 

the shavings stay inside ; then select the most suitable 
turn-pin, and, after wetting it with water, place it in the 
end of the pipe, holding the top of the turn-pin between 
the thumb and forefinger while the pipe rests in the 
palm of the hand, and is held there by the other three 
fingers. Now strike the turn-pin lightly and squarely in 
the centre ; in case the opening becomes uneven, more 
to one side than the other, you must strike on the oppo- 
site side, which will fetch it even. A little practice will 
soon enable you to make a good job. Keep the turn- 
pin always wet. It is more than likely the pipe will 
show signs of splitting. If it does, beat the edge with 
the mallet, which will thicken the metal ; by adjusting 
the thickening process to the effect produced by the 
turn-pin, a pipe may be opened to almost any size. 

The next tool required is the shave-hook, or the pocket- 
knife, which often answers as well. With it shave around 
inside as much surface as is required for soldering, then 
rub a tallow candle over the cleaned portion, and this 
part of the joint is ready. It is known as the female end. 

The other end, which is called the male part, is now 
to be prepared. First, rasp the end off perfectly square, 
then rasp the pipe to a taper, which must be the same 
as the taper of turn-pin or it cannot be expected to fit. 
It must fit so that no solder can run into the pipe. The 
ends must now be shaved up to the point the solder is 
to reach. A mark should first be made around the pipe, 
and the shaving be done from the mark toward the end. 



48 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

The operation is simply to clean the leaden pipe so that 
the solder will take properly. 

Now there are hundreds of places where you must 
find some method to fix your work while soldering it. 
Suppose the joint to be an upright one, and to be made 
against a wall ; drive a couple of fixing-chisels into the 
wall, one above and one below the joint, and at a suffi- 
cient distance apart. Tie the male end with the cord to 
the upper chisel and the female end to the lower chisel — 
never reverse this order of proceeding or the solder will 
be apt to run out of the joint. See that the whole is 
now firm and not liable to shake. If it does shake, 
use more chisels to steady it. 

There are clamps made on purpose for holding upright 
joints, and every plumber's shop should have one, as 
they are handy for fixing all kinds of work, such as 
bosses, union linings, cocks, valves, pipes, etc., while the 
joint is being made. Holders are also made, or can be 
improvised, for any sort of joint. 

The joint being now prepared, and to be finished as a 
copper-bolt joint, you will take your copper hatchet bolt, 
the face of which must be well tinned about half of an 
inch up each side of the V-edge, and it must be perfectly 
clean. Put some pounded black resin around the joint, 
and then melt a little solder all around. Having melted 
sufficient solder to fill in all round, run the nose of the 
soldering-iron into the solder and tin the lead well ; float 
the solder (with the iron well heated) all around the 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 49 

joint. If properly done, the joint will be as smooth as 
the pipe itself. 

A blown joint is prepared in the same manner, but 
instead of an iron the blow-pipe is used. 

If you intend to make a blown joint you must use 
blow-pipe solder, which should not be more than an 
eighth of an inch thick, or it will require too much heat. 
(There are all sorts of lamps made for plumbers' use in 
soldering ; any one of them will do the work.) 

Begin by putting a little powdered resin around the 
joint ; now blow the. flame on the joint, producing a 
heat sufficient to melt the solder but not the lead ; keep 
on adding a little more resin and solder, and blow until 
you have just heat enough to cause the solder to run 
and unite with the lead, and the joint is made. The 
point to be observed is, to get just the right heat. . 

PREPARATION OF WIPED JOINTS. 

Wiped joints are not by any means so easy to make 
as copper-bolt joints, and require considerable practice. 
In the first place, you will prepare the ends of the pipe 
just as you did for the copper-bolt or blown joint, 
except that the shaving must be longer, and the female 
end will not require to be opened quite so wide, or it 
would make the joint too bulky. For a wiped joint the 
ends must be free from grease or oil ; this is done by 
rubbing with powdered chalk or whitening, afterward 
rubbed off with a clean rag. Next comes the soiling, 



56 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

which, though of importance to the novice, can be dis- 
pensed with by the practiced hand. 

Soil, or tarnish, is prepared as follows : Take a pack- 
age of lampblack, empty it into the metal pot, and heat 
it until red-hot, then let it cool ; now mix with it about 
half a teacupful of finely-powdered chalk ; use beer to mix 
it, and grind the whole up well, making it about as stiff 
as good mortar; add a good tablespoonful of melted 
glue, and stir well over the fire. For use, it should be 
about the consistency of cream, and is applied with a 
paint-brush, technically known as a sash tool. When 
putting it on don't daub the work all over. Soil the 
joints from 3 to 5 inches past the solder line. Upright 
joints require the most soiling. The soiling is to pre- 
vent the solder from sticking on the wrong place. A 
large joint should be practiced upon first, as it is the 
easiest to make, the larger quantity of solder retaining 
the heat longer. Having all prepared, fix the joints 
together as in the copper-bolt joint. 

We have already spoken of shaving for joints, but as 
it is well to have some definite rules to go by, we will 
give the length of shaving for different sizes of pipe. 
For wiped joints the pipe which is to go inside should 
be rasped off y 2 inch in length. This is called long- 
rasping off, and is the best. 

^-inch pipe joint the shaving should be iy 2 inches long. 

U " " "■ " 2% 

I " « « « 3 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 51 

i^-inch pipe joint the shaving should be y4 inches long. 

1% " " " " yA 

2 " « « " 4 

3 " " " " vA to 4 

4 « " « " y/ 2 to 4 

5 " " and all sizes over, 4 

The cloth is a very important tool to the plumber, 
and he should always have a good clean stock of them 
on hand. It is made as follows : Take a piece of 
new ticking or moleskin woolen cloth of moderate thick- 
ness and 12 by 9 inches in size, fold it in three folds, 
which will make it 4 by 9 inches ; then fold it once 
again, making it of six thicknesses, and it will be 4 by 
4^ inches in size, which is just right for jointing y 2 or 
2^-inch pipe. Sew up the edges to keep them from 
opening, melt a little tallow and pour it on one side of 
the cloth, this is to keep the solder from sticking ; al- 
ways use this side of the cloth, and now and then put 
on a little tallow. Larger cloths are required for larger 
sizes of pipes, up to a cloth of ten thicknesses, measur- 
ing 9^ by 10 inches for use on 5 or 6-inch pipe. Still 
larger joints are worked by using a glove-cloth, followed 
by a smaller or ordinary cloth. 

The splash-stick is made of wood, about 6 inches 
long and I j£ inches wide. Iron is sometimes used, and 
is the best when the solder is very hot, as it will then 
burn the wooden one. 

If the joint to be wiped is an upright, you will need a 
collar to catch the solder. Cut out a piece of sheet-lead 



52 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

with a hole in the centre the same diameter as the pipe ; 
cut it from the outside edge to the edge of the hole, 
and by opening it sideways slip it into the pipe, after 
first tying a piece of string around the pipe at the 
proper place, which will serve to keep the collar from 
slipping down. Pack it with paper if it does not fit just 
right, brush it with soil, and it is ready. 

Before you begin to wipe the joint (an upright), which 
is now ready, you must see that there is no draught 
through the pipes ; stop the ends. The helper will bring 
you the metal ; take an old piece of felt with which to 
hold the ladle, fill the ladle with solder, and go to work, 
splashing it on the joint with the splash-stick. Take 
care not to burn the pipe with the solder, which can be 
done by splashing in too much in one place. Get up the 
heat by putting on as much solder as you want, and as 
near to the shape as possible. Keep it alive by working 
it up with the splash-stick. If it drops down, push it up 
again with the stick, adding more solder to keep it hot. 
Take another ladle of solder and splash it around and 
up on the soiling, patting it into proper shape with the 
splash-stick. It should now be just hot enough ; take 
the cloth, well heated on the face side, in the left hand, 
and with a quick, wide sweep wipe clear around the top 
and back part of the left-hand side of the joint, then the 
bottom, next the centre ; change hands and do the other 
side, and your joint is done. 

All this, which has taken a great deal of description, 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 53 

will take about one and a half minutes altogether ; the 
wiping operation will not take more than 20 seconds. 

TO WIPE AN UNDERHANDED JOINT. 
For making underhanded joints, first place a small 
piece of paper under the joint to catch the surplus sol- 
der and begin soldering as follows : Take the felt in 
your right hand and with it hold the ladle three parts 
full of solder. To see that it is not too hot, hold the 




Fig. 48.* 

back of your hand within two inches or so of the solder. 
If it quickly burns your hand it is too hot ; if you can 
only just hold your hand this distance away without 
pain, use it ; but if you cannot feel the heat, it is too 
cold. This is soon known by a little practice. 

Another test is to take a little piece of newspaper 
and immerse it below the metal ; if it blazes instantly it 
is too hot ; if it browns quickly without burning, use it. 
When you begin to pour your solder upon the joint do 



* From the Plumber's Trade Journal. 



54 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

it very lightly, and not too much on at a time in one 
place ; but keep the ladle moving backward and forward, 
pouring from E to J (Fig. 48), first on one side of the 
joint to the other and from end to end ; also an inch or 
two up the soiling, as shown at E, on purpose to make 
the pipe nice and hot, and to the same heat as the 
solder. 

The further in reason the heat is run or taken along 
the pipe, the better chance you will have of making 



Fig. 49.* 

your joint. Keep pouring away, and with your left 
hand hold the cloth, C, to catch the solder, and so cause 
the same to tin the bottom of the joint (especially look- 
ing after this point in large joints), and to prevent the 
solder from dropping down. 

The cloth is shown in Fig. 49 as it should be held 
when tinning the bottom of the joint ; it is somewhat 
bulged or bagged. Having a small quantity of semi- 
fluid metal in your cloth, begin to work it about the 
bottom of the joint and up the sides. 



* From the Plumber s Trade Journal, 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 55 

Here the cloth is well illustrated in Fig. 50. It shows 
it being worked up from the bottom toward the top, 
which should bring a portion of the metal with it. Keep 
pouring on fresh metal, moving your ladle and cloth 
from side to side, and by degrees get the solder nice 
and soft ; and as the metal begins to feel shaped, firm 
and bulky, get the shape as near as possible, taking care 
to have it all soft, and when it is in this shape and in a 
half semi-fluid setting condition, quickly put the ladle 
down and do not stop a second for anything, but with 




Fig. 50* 
your left hand shape this side of your joint, always be- 
ginning at the outside, or at that part next the soiling ; 
then take your cloth in the right hand and do this side, 
finishing on the top ; then if you have a small joint, say 
up to 2 inches, and have been quick with your solder, it 
will not be set ; then give the cloth a light run all round 
your joint and this will make it look like a turned joint. 
If it is not quite clean rub a little tallow round it and 
wipe it with a piece of clean rag, or a damp sponge will 
answer instead of the tallow and rag. 
* From the Plumber's Trade Journal. 



56 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



Some plumbers, after they have shaped the joint, 
roughly bulge the cloth (as shown at J in Fig. 51, as held 



ROLLED 

JOJNT 




Fig. 51.* 
for wiping a rolled and upright joint) and wipe or finish 
off the joint. 

THE PREPARATION OF BRANCH JOINTS. 
Branch joints are all those joints which are not made 
end to end, and are known as square and slope joints. 




Fig. 52. 
To make a square joint (Fig. 52), bore a hole with a 
J^-inch gimlet, or a tap borer, taking care not to go 



* From the Plumbers Trade Journal. 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



57 



through on the opposite side of the pipe ; then take 
your bending-pin, insert it into the hole, and, by strik- 
ing it upward with the hammer, raise up the edge of 
the hole all around, leaving no burr inside. This is done 
to thicken the lead at the joint sufficiently to enable the 
end which is to be inserted to fit without projecting into 
the pipe and causing obstruction, as shown at B Q 
(Fig. 53). When you have hammered the edge of the 




Fig. 53. 
hole to the right size, go to work and prepare the male 
end, just as you did for the joint previously described ; 
soil and shave it ; but it does not require to be shaved 
so high as for an end-to-end joint—about 1 inch from 
the rasped end is sufficient. Now clean, soil, and shave 
the pipe to which the end is to be joined. Then pro- 
ceed thus (see Fig. 52). If making the joint on the 
floor, stand with one foot on each side of the pipe at the 
end marked F ; take the solder, and with the splash-stick 



58 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



splash all around the top part of the joint at K P, also 
around F D ; keep at this, as the solder hangs together, 
until you have shaped the joint as well as you can with 
the splash-stick ; the heat may be kept up by splashing an 
inch or so beyond the shaving on to the soiling ; the 
solder will not stick there, but it will aid in heating. 
The solder on the joint being now in a semi-fluid condi- 




Fig. 54- 



tion, you will take the cloth, already warmed by your 
helper, and proceed to wipe all around the top and left- 
hand side of the joint, then around the bottom and cen- 
tre part ; bring this round to the line F K ; next take 
the cloth in your right hand, and, as quickly as possible, 
wipe the other side in the same manner. 

Fig. 54, which is a section, shows how the joint should 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



59 



be when finished ; the bulging part on each side shows 
the amount of and distribution of the solder. 

Fig. 55 is a slope, or inclined joint. To make it, pre- 
pare just as you did the square joint, except, of course, 
that it must be shaped, as to the end and the hole, in 
accordance with the required angle ; splash it as you did 
before, and, when wiping, shape the acute-angled side 
first, as from P to D. If you cannot get into it with 
your fingers, which will be the case when the angle is 




Fig. 55- 

small, you must make what is called a solder-mop, by 
tying a piece of cloth on the end of a stick of suitable 
size, and use that. Then finish the two sides the same as 
before. The distribution of solder should be the same 
as shown in the section. 



TAFT JOINTS. 
What are known as " taft joints " are somewhat 
sneered at by the average plumber because they are easy 
to make. For all that, they make a good joint when 



60 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



well made. The process is similar to that employed in 
making a copper-bolt joint, except that the female end 
is spread open very much wider (see Fig. 56). The taft 
joint has some advantages. In the first place, it takes 
less solder ; in the second place, nearly any kind of 
solder will do. 




Fig. 56. 



Fig. 57. 



A flange taft joint is just the same in principle ; the 
difference lies in the use of a flange (like a washer) of 
lead placed on the floor where the pipe passes through 
(F), fixed around the pipe merely for the purpose of 
making a more extended joint. 

Taft and flange joints were used a great deal in Eu- 
rope for leaden soil-pipes. 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



61 



MAKING JOINTS WITH A BLAST-TORCH. 

Joints are sometimes made without the melting-pot, 

ladle, or irons. Fig. 58 shows how the job is done. 

P P are the two pieces of pipe fixed for jointing at J, 

where the joint is shown, shaped with the torch-flame 




F against it. The joint is made by taking a strip of 
solder — say I inch by ^& — and about a foot in length, 
and by holding the end of it against the joint and allow- 
ing the torch-flame to play upon it, enough solder is 
melted off, little by little, to form the joint. The joint 
can be almost completely shaped with the end of the 



62 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

stick of solder. When you have deposited enough 
solder, heat it all around until you can wipe it with a 
cloth, and finish as any other wiped joint. 

Thus far our joints and soldering operations have been 
supposed to be for new work only. The plumber, how- 




Fig. 59- 
ever, is called upon very, yes, very frequently, to make 
repairs. The most common cause of the necessity of 
repairing is frost, which bursts the pipes, the bursting 
being caused by expansion. 

Ice always occupies more room than the water of 
which it is composed ( T V more space). 

To repair a break or burst, such as is shown in Fig. 59: 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 63 

first shut off the water, and see that the pipe to be 
repaired is clear ; then gently and gradually hammer 
the two sides of the hole together. Keep on tapping 
with the hammer until the pipe looks as it did before 
the break occurred. Soil it all around above and below 
the slit, as far as is necessary ; then shave it, and after a 
little grease has been applied, go ahead and splash it as 
you would for a joint ; then wipe the solder, and the 
pipe is as good as ever, provided the work is well done. 



Fig. 60. 

It saves putting in a new length of pipe and the making 
of one joint. 

Never try to repair an iron, copper, or brass pipe with 
solder in this manner, unless for a mere temporary 
makeshift. If you find a break where it is utterly im- 
possible to use solder, repair it with a putty joint, which 
will answer until a new pipe can be put in. Make your 
putty of dry or powdered red -lead and gold-size, or 
japan ; dry the pipe thoroughly, plaster on the putty, 
and bind it all over with string carefully, as shown in 
Fig. 60. 



64 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

SOLDERING ACID. 

This is called also " killed spirits," and is made of 
hydrochloric acid, which is muriatic acid by another 
name. Pour some of the acid into an old cup, and put 
into it some small pieces of zinc. It will boil furiously 
for a while, but will gradually simmer down, until it has 
consumed all the zinc it is capable of holding in solu- 
tion. It is now chloride of zinc, and is applied to the 
work to be soldered with a brush made of a few bristles 
tied together for the purpose. 




Fig. 61. 

When making this acid be careful to keep your tools 
away from it, as it splutters while boiling and rusts 
everything. 

We mention soldering acid here because it will be 
very useful in making elbows or throated bends. These 
are very simple to make and need no extended descrip- 
tion. The whole art consists in cutting a V-shaped 
piece out of the pipe of the proper size to produce the 
required angle (see Fig. 6r). 

If you want a square elbow, make the top of the 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



65 



V-cut twice as wide as the pipe is in diameter, as shown 
in Fig. 62. 

41 C4! H» 




Fisr. 62. 



To lay out your V-cut for any angle, study the cut 
below (Fig. 63). Having decided upon the angle you 




./K 


A 

H 


1 


i 




F 


\ 




C 




C "J 





Fig. 63. 



want, take your compasses and rule, and supposing you 
are using 4-inch pipe, lay off two sets of parallel lines 4 
inches apart which shall represent the pipe, and lay them 
at the required angle, then the width of the V-cut will be 
the distance from D to H. This system is very simple, 
and will answer for every angle but a right angle. 



66 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



BENDS. 
It looks very easy to bend a pipe, but it is not. The 
sure result of an attempt to bend a pipe with- 
out knowing how to do it, is to buckle it, 
which spoils it altogether. All sorts of de- 
vices have been invented to prevent the buck- 
ling. We have seen brass pipe filled with 
melted resin and bent when cold, the resin 
being melted out again after the bend is 
made, sometimes the resin is left in. Sand 
is used for the same purpose, and is the best ; 
balls or bobbins are also used. 

The Billings pipe-bender holds the pipe 
securely from buckling, but is hard to get out 
after the bend is made (see Fig. 64). The 
modus operandi is as follows : Insert the 
bender into the pipe (or thread a rope through 
and pull it in) to the point where the bend 
is to be, now go ahead and bend the pipe 
around any object which will produce the cor- 
rect radius and the job is done. Pull out the 
bender with the rope. 

SPLIT BENDS. 

Fig. 64. Large thin pipes require bending in a differ- 

ent manner, or they will gain too much metal on the 
inside of the bend at the expense of the outside. We 



* From the Plumber s Trade Journal. 



MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 



67 



therefore resort to the split bend, which is prepared by 
cutting the pipe into halves down to the point where 
the bend is to commence (see Fig. 65, which shows the 




Fig. 65. 



inside turned down and ready for the upper half). Each 
half must be bent slowly and shaped with the bossing- 
stick or dresser (both are necessary). See that the edges 




Fig. 66. 



fit as closely as possible, file off all projections and 
solder the joints. The bend now has a piece of spare 
metal (Fig. 66), which is shown from A to E, and is 



68 MAKING JOINTS AND BENDS 

exactly equal to the amount of metal which would have 
been thrown into the inside of the bend at H, and taken 
from the outside at J, K, L, had you bent the pipe suc- 
cessfully without slitting it. You are not likely to be 
called upon to make such bends very often ; they are 
generally used for lead soil-pipe. 

As iron is now almost entirely used for soil-pipe, the 
bends, of all shapes, come ready-made. 




Fig. 67. 



SET-OFF BENDS. 



Set-offs are double bends (see Fig. 6y). Always make 
the bend on the end of the pipe which is to be the long- 
est first, then make the second bend. Bend the first 
nearly square, as it will surely come back to where you 
want it while you are pulling back the second bend. 

The tools shown in the same drawing are for use in 
shaping the bend from the inside to keep it round; 
they are called dummies. 



PART VI. 

TRAPS. 

Traps are designed to fulfil the important mission of 
keeping sewer gas out of the dwelling. Upon the trap 
depends the health of the inmates, their protection from 
diseases, the germs of which proceed from the sewer, 
and which it needs no argument to convince any one 
must be kept out. 

Technically speaking, a trap is a contrivance which 
enables water, which is denser than gas, to be interposed 
between the sewer and the dwelling, thereby preventing 
the entrance of gases. 

The principle of the trap is that of the inverted 
siphon, so arranged with a vent that all the water 
desired will pass through except the last larger or smaller 
quantity, which is equal in volume to the cubic measure- 
ment of the capacity of the trap, which is caught and 
retained until the next time it is used. 

The drawing (Fig. 6$) will show the meaning plainly. 

The trap is what is known as a siphon-trap ; the water is 

seen retained level with the lower side of outlet pipe at 

A, while the inside of the bend at C is seen to project 

(69) 



TO 



TRAPS 



into the water, manifestly sealing the trap against the 
passage of gas from A to B. 

In order to at once show the difference between a 
siphon and a Q-trap, we also give a cut of the latter 
(Fig. 69). There are many advocates of both styles, 
and the evidence seems to be in favor of the siphon. 
The Q-trap possesses at least one very undesirable fea- 
ture in the foul air barrier at A, which is out of sight 





Fig. 68. 



Fig. 69. 



and liable to become corroded and eaten without the 
fact becoming known until much harm has been 
done. 

There are endless varieties of traps, the names of 
which it is not necessary to give. The principal traps are 
the anti- (J trap, bag-trap, ball-trap, bell-trap, bottle-trap, 
cistern-trap, tj-trap, grease-trap, gully-trap, half-co -trap, 
hunch-trap, ►fl-trap, running-trap, 0) -trap, semi- Q trap, 
siphon-trap, sink-trap, and V-trap. 



TRAPS 71 

They are nearly all worked on the same principle ; 
that is to say, water is depended upon to form the 
seal. 

" Once upon a time," as the story-books say, there 
was such a thing as a brick-trap, which served perhaps 
for a dozen or so pipes at once. 



Fig. 70.* 

For the sake of curiosity a drawing is here given (Fig. 
70) of a leaden ^-trap taken out of Lethbury's old 
church in England, which was in constant use over 200 
years. 



* From the Plumber s Trade Journal, 



72 



TRAPS 



The simplest trap is the half-(/5 trap, shown in Fig. 
71. It is really an inverted siphon. It is cast in one 
piece of lead, or it can be made by bending a piece of 




Fig. 71. 



pipe into the correct shape. When provided with a 
screw at the bottom of the bend, as in Fig. 72, it is 
serviceable for sinks, etc., but not for closets. 

The same trap is made in cast-iron, for use with soil- 
pipe work ; there is an opening in the top for the vent, 
without which the trap would, by virtue of siphonic 
action, empty itself entirely. 

As the plumber is nowadays seldom called upon to 
make a trap (they can be bought cheaper ready-made), 
we will simply give directions for making a V-trap, and 



TRAPS 



73 



confine ourselves to a description of such others as are 
in general use. 

The V-trap, which is really an c/3 -trap made in another 
manner, is hardly as good as the £j-trap m use 5 Dut ft 




Fig. 72. 



is the best to make for practice. It is here shown com- 
plete, soldering, soiling, and all (Fig. 73). 

For a 9-inch trap open the compasses 4^ inches, and 
strike the circle A (Fig. 74) ; then draw the top line, B, 
then the back, or heel line, E, making the line E square 
with the line B. Now with your compasses measure 
from E to the opposite side of the circle, at its extreme 
point, and mark off this distance at R ; then draw the 



74 TRAPS 

line T from R to the edge of the circle, to which it forms 
a tangent. Next draw the line V V, which should be 




Fig. 73- 
^]/ 2 inches below the top line B, and parallel to it ; then 
draw the throat-line W. Mark off 4 inches from it along 




Fig- 74- 
the top line B, and draw the line Y, which will meet the 
line W at D, forming a V, from whence the name. The 



TRAPS 75 

band you can make easily, as it is straight. The top, 
however, is cut to the shape shown in Fig. 75. B is the 
inlet part, C the throat part, and A the end over the 
outlet, which is at G, in Fig. 74, and which must be left 
of such a length as to reach to R, or beyond a little. 

Having cut out the two cheeks, the band, and the top 
piece, you will prepare them for soldering. Soil the 
inside edges of the cheeks, then shave the inside edges 
of the cheeks and band and solder them together. 
Next shave the inside part up the throat and inlet, and 




Fig. 75- 

then around the outside of the inlet and top of the out- 
let. Next shave all around the top — about 1 inch will 
do. Now bend the top to fit the V, making the bend, 
as shown by the dotted line and two stars ; place it in 
the V, and solder up one side, being careful that the 
other side is in its position snugly ; then solder the other 
side. Now bend over the ends each way and solder 
them up. 

When you can make such a trap as has been described, 
you will be able to make any other kind which can be 
made by hand. 



76 TRAPS 

We now proceed to describe the traps which you will 
in all probability be called upon to put in. 

The Bower sewer-gas trap is a good specimen of a 
trap, designed to interpose a large quantity of water 
between the inlet and outlet pipe. 

The trap is not alone sealed perfectly by the water, 
but also in a measure by a hollow ball. The ball can 
be dispensed with entirely, and the trap is equally good. 




Fig. 76. 
SANITAS TRAP-CUP, PARTITION, AND WASHER. 

In falling the water pushes away the ball, which is of 
such a size that as soon as the water has passed 
through, it again places itself against the end of the 
inlet pipe, which is continued to a point midway between 
the normal level and the bottom of the trap. This 
trap has an advantage, in that it can be taken apart, 
cleaned out, and put together again. The principle is 
shown in Figs. 93, 94, and 95. 



TRAPS 



77 



Before going any further, we must call attention to the 
fact that traps which hold much water are of no use 
unless the water supply is sufficient to thoroughly oper- 
ate them. Remember that after being used nothing 
should remain in the trap but clean water. 

Figs. 76 and JJ show the Sanitas trap, which is a 




Fig. 77- 
SANITAS FULL S-TRAP. 



trap designed to retain its seal without a vent. We can- 
not do better than make use of the manufacturers' own 
words in describing it. They say : 

" The seal of the unvented Sanitas trap never can be 
and never has been destroyed by siphonage in good 
plumbing work. Furthermore, the unvented Sanitas 



78 TRAPS 

trap will stand a severer test of siphoning action than 
will the vented S-trap. This has been demonstrated over 
and over again, and the demonstration can be repeated 
at any time to the satisfaction of any who are interested, 
provided care be taken to vent the S-trap in a manner 
which is practical in plumbing, using a vent-pipe of the 
size, length, and average number of bends found in ordi- 
nary practice. The seal of the Sanitas trap will be 
lowered by severe siphoning action, but it cannot be 
broken. 

" The trap can be clogged by matches or kitchen refuse, 
if improperly used, just as can any ordinary waste-pipe ; 
but when properly set and used, the Sanitas trap will 
never become clogged to the point of losing its effect- 
iveness. If improperly used, as when under kitchen 
sinks the cook takes out the sink-strainer and sweeps 
into the trap bones and refuse never intended for the 
waste-pipe, the Sanitas trap will be fouled ; but it then 
has the great advantage over all others of providing the 
easiest and safest means of removing this refuse matter, 
and that with the aid of an ordinary screwdriver. When 
used under sinks, the trap should be placed close to the 
sink outlet, and the sink-strainer should never be removed. 
The grease will then pass through the trap in a liquid 
state, and be caught in the suitable grease receptacle 
beyond. The efficiency of the Sanitas trap will then 
remain intact indefinitely, while other traps, like the old- 
fashioned ' D ' trap, or its modern representatives, the 



TRAPS 79 

1 Bottle,' ' Round,' and ' Pot ' traps, have bodies so much 
larger than their inlet and outlet arms, that the grease is 
cooled in the large body of water they contain, and con- 
gealed against their sides, and they obviously cannot be 
scoured by the water when it passes through them. 

" It is often thought that where special trap vent- 
pipes are called for, the Sanitas trap is not needed. 
Precisely the opposite is the fact. All sanitarians now 
admit that whether the trap vent-pipe be used or not, 
the trap itself should be anti-siphonic, since the vent 
alone cannot always be relied upon. The mouth of the 
vent-pipe is often clogged under sinks by grease, since 
it is never scoured, and the friction due to its bends 
and to the disproportion between its capacity and its 
length, often destroys its efficiency as an air supply. 
The Sanitas trap is so constructed that its seal cannot 
be injured by evaporation produced by trap venting. 
Therefore, where trap vent-pipes are called for, the use 
of the Sanitas trap is particularly necessary. In virtue 
of the peculiar construction of the Sanitas trap its out- 
let-pipe forms its own vent-pipe, which is infinitely bet- 
ter than a special vent-pipe, inasmuch as it is always 
kept open by the scouring action of its own discharges. 
But even if it should ever become closed by grease, no 
harm could come in this case, since the same closure 
would not only shut off sewer gas and siphonage, but 
also at once announce itself and be removed. 

" Finally, the seal of this trap can never be destroyed 



80 TRAPS 



by back pressure, in properly arranged plumbing. For 
with the main soil-pipe vented as it should be, no back 
pressure can be generated strong enough to do mischief, 



Fig. 78. 
BEAUMONT BRASS TRAP FOR LAVATORIES. 

where ordinary care and intelligence are used in origin- 
ally laying out the work." 

Figure 78 shows Beaumont's brass trap, designed 



TRAPS 



81 



especially for use in lavatories where the plumbing is 
exposed. Its action is that of the bottle-trap, but the 
construction is such that it presents a very sightly ap- 
pearance, and is especially adapted for the better class 
of plumbing, where fittings are left exposed to view. 
The parts of the trap are easily taken apart and put 
together, and the mechanical construction of the trap is 
very simple ; it is easily disconnected and opened for 
cleaning, although its construction is such that it is 
not liable to clog, and hence will rarely require to be 
cleaned out. 

The back-air and waste couplings are in the same 
centres in a vertical line, which is not only of much 
convenience to the plumber when setting, but the ar- 
rangement adds also greatly to the ornamental appear- 
ance of a lavatory. It allows ample room to run the 
supply pipes straight up from the floor. 




RUNNING 



BAG gj SHORTBEND 



Fig. 79. 

DU BOIS TRAPS. 

These traps are precisely the same as any other traps 

of the same shape (see Fig. 79). Their merit consists 

in being drawn instead of cast. They are made under 

hydraulic pressure, the lead, as a result, being perfectly 



82 TRAPS 

homogeneous, there being no roughness or sand 
holes. 

The rj-trap, which is shown in Fig. So, is a fair sam- 
ple of such a trap. Its interior is shown in Fig. 69. It 
was much used in England prior to the discovery of im- 
proved methods of sealing against sewer gas. The same 
objections obtain against this trap as against the hunch 



Fig. 80. 
THE rj-TRAP. 

trap (Fig. 81), or the Adee trap (Fig. 82). Such a trap 
soon becomes very foul, for the reason that it is not 
thoroughly cleansed out by the passage of water. Any- 
thing heavy finding its way into this trap is pretty sure 
to remain in it, because the water, not being confined 
within a passageway of equal diameter throughout, is 
unable to act efficiently for scouring purposes. 



TRAPS 



83 




Fig. 8 1. 
O HUNCH TRAP. 

This trap is made, or rather was made, for it is not 
used much now, for placing in a perpendicular line of 
pipe ; it acts the same as an 03-trap (see Fig. 81). It is 
also similar in action to the bag trap. 

In the light of modern advance in plumbing such a 
clumsy, bulky trap appears out of place, as does also its 
congener (Fig. 82). It will be seen at once that it re- 
quires but a bend in the outlet pipe S in Fig. 82 to make 
it precisely the same as the U hunch trap. It, however, 



84 



TRAPS 



possesses an advantage in the fact that it holds a great 
deal more water than the latter. Either of these traps 
are objectionable, for the reason that the interior surfaces 
are not, and cannot be, thoroughly scoured by the water 
which passes through them. This is the point which 
constitutes the superior feature of traps whose diameter 
is equal all through their interior. 




Fig. 82. 

THE ADEE TRAP. 

Although the Adee trap does not look like a £) trap, 
it acts in precisely the same manner. Its principal dif- 
ference is that it is cast in two pieces and joined togeth- 
er at B (Fig. 82). 



TRAPS 



■85 




Fig. 83. 

►fl OR HALF-C/J TRAP. 

This is a cast lead trap, and is shown with vent 
attached. 




Fig. 84. 
THREE-QUARTER Cfl-TRAP OF CAST LEAD. 




Fig. 85. 
03-TRAP OF CAST LEAD. 

It will be readily seen that the three preceding traps 
are precisely similar in action, they differ only in shape. 



TRAFS 



BELL TRAPS. 

Bell traps are designed specially for sinks. In spite 
of the fact that they are very unsatisfactory they are 




Fig. 86. Fig. 87. 

much used. The way they operate is fully shown in the 
diagrams Fig. 86 and Fig. 87. 

antill's trap. 
This trap was designed to take the place of the Bell 
trap. It is, however, but little better (Fig. 88). 





Fig. 88. Fig. 89. 

Then came Jennings with another variation on the 
same Bell trap (Fig. 89), which merely turned it upside 
down, so far as the bell is concerned. 



TRAPS 87 

The trap which is used on nearly every sink in New- 
York is the to or half- (/) trap, with a screw in the bot- 




Fig. 90. 
torn (Fig. 90), which can be removed for the purpose of 
enabling the trap to be cleaned. 




Fig. 91. 
THE BAG TRAP. 
The bag trap is so called from its appearance ; it pre- 
sents no advantage whatever over the C/5-trap. Its pur- 
pose is to bring both inlet and outlet in line. 



88 



TRAPS 




Fig. 92. 
CONNOLLY'S GLASS TRAP. 

Connolly's trap is shown attached to a wash-bowl. 
The only advantage it seems to possess is, that you 
can see by means of the glass globe whether the water 
remains in it and maintains the seal. In other respects 
it does not differ from an ordinary bottle trap, and its 
transparency is soon dimmed unless frequently and 
thoroughly cleaned, as the soap and dirt held in solution 
by the water are deposited even upon glass in the form 
of a greasy scum. 

To the author's mind, no trap should be used which 
has any unnecessary joints. The less joints the better. 



TRAPS 



Mr. Paul Gerhard has made many suggestions as im- 
provements on the Bower trap. We show three of them 
(Figs. 93, 94, and 95). 



Figs. 93, 94, 95- 

There is one point about these traps with ball-valves 
that recommends them, and it is this : The ball acts 
very much as a cork, and prevents evaporation to a 
great extent. The chief objection to most traps is that 
they will become dry in a short time. 



90 TRAPS 

A family away from their house during the summer 
months, come home; some are taken sick ; no one seems 
to think of the cause, which is usually to be found in 
the fact that the traps are all dry, and have allowed the 
gas which exhales from the main trap and from the soil- 
pipe to permeate the house. 

There is but one effectual way of preventing this. 
Before you go away with your family, fill every trap in 
the house with glycerine or crude oil. Either is cheaper 
than the doctor. 

THE PRINCIPLE OF SIPHONAGE IN TRAPS. 
The reason why siphonage takes place in S-traps is on 
account of the difference in the weight of the water 
between the inlet and the outlet of the trap, which will be 
readily understood on reference to the illustration. Here 
A is the inlet, C the outlet, and B the air-pipe. Suppose 
that the trap is full of water from the piston R to the 
piston Q, and up to the gauge-line 3 in the inlet-pipe A ; 
and that the water in A is in a state of rest, and open to 
the atmosphere, which presses upon the surface of the 
water with a pressure equal to 15 lbs. on the square 
inch, and that this atmospheric pressure is also acting 
upon the outward end of the pistons Q and R. The 
pressure being equal, and, so long as the piston R is 
held up with sufficient weight to balance the column, 
the water in the inlet-pipes, A and B, will stand at one 
level. But suppose we add an extra pressure of 2 lbs. 



TRAPS 91 

to the square inch to the piston Q, at the same time 
keeping the piston R stationary ; this will cause the 
piston Q to descend when the extra pressure given to 
the water in B and A will overcome the 15 lbs. external 
atmospheric pressure, and the water in the inlet-pipe 
will rise up to the line 5, because each division is 2 feet 
distant. Now, supposing each division of the pipe A to 
be 2 feet apart, it is then plain that the water must neces- 
sarily rise to the above level, because we will say, in 
round numbers (which is near enough, for our purpose), 
that the pressure or weight at the bottom of a column 
of water I foot in height is half a pound. 

This is what is meant by 1 5 lbs. atmospheric pressure 
to the 30-foot column of water ; and, as before stated, 
the pressure of the atmosphere, as every one should 
know, equals about 15 lbs. to the square inch upon the 
earth's surface. Now, pull the bottom of the piston Q, 
which is now, say at line I up to the gauge-line 5, which 
produces an 8-foot column of water in pipe B above that 
in A. By so doing you take a portion of the weight of 
the atmosphere away from the surface of the water in 
pipe B — this represents the sucking action before ex- 
plained — causing the external atmospheric pressure in 
the pipe A to press the water down to the gauge-line 1, 
and to keep it there as long as the 4 lbs. or sucking 
action weight per square inch is taken off the surface of 
the water in pipe B, or held off from the bottom of the 
piston Q. 



92 TRAPS 

Now add an additional inward pressure to the bottom 
piston R, to the extent of 2 lbs. to the square inch in 
excess of the weight of water in the pipe C ; this will 
cause the water in the pipe A to rise from I to 3. Next 
push the'piston Q from 5 down to 3 ; this will cause the 
water in pipe A to rise to 5. Keep the piston Q station- 
ary, and suddenly remove the piston R from the pipe 
C. This will, so to speak, take the prop away from the 
water, when it will fall, and rush forward in proportion 
to its height, and the air rushing in behind in proportion 
to this additional weight causing the difference of weight 
which, in reality, constitutes siphonic action. 

Next place an air-tight cover, F, over the end of the 
pipe A, and place the end of the pipe C into water ; then 
draw up the piston Q ; this will remove the atmospheric 
pressure from the internal parts of the pipe ; by so doing 
the water at the mouth of the pipe E will, by the exter- 
nal 15 lbs. to the square inch atmospheric pressure, 
known as suction, be forced up the pipe, and rise to the 
height of about 30 feet, or from the line G to about the 
dotted line F, or in proportion to the weight applied to 
the piston Q, or until it stands at a height of 30 feet, 
this being the limit of the 15 lbs. external power, or 
atmospheric pressure. Now pull the piston Q right out 
of the pipe B ; then let go the piston R, and the air will 
rush in at the pipe B, which has become the air-pipe, 
and so allow the water in the pipe C to fall back to its 
former static or quiescent state. 



TRAPS 



93 



It is now very plain that at that moment the pipe B in 
reality becomes an air-pipe ; and if, instead of pulling 








Fig- 96. £2 

out the piston, you had taken off the cap from the top 
of the pipe A, this would have admitted the air, thereby 



94 



TRAPS 



causing it to become an air-pipe, and which would have 
caused the water in the pipe C to have run back, plainly 
illustrating siphonic action. 



OVAL LIP-TRAPS. 



The only object apparently gained in these traps is 
economy of space. The one shown in Fig. 97 is designed 




Fig. 97. 



Fig. 98. 



for a side outlet at W, the inlet being at I. The other, 
Fig. 98, has its outlet in a line with the inlet-pipe ; its 
internal arrangements are, therefore, more crowded, and 
the amount of water contained at L is much smaller. 



TRAPS 



95 



GREASE-TRAPS. 



The grease-trap is very far from having reached a state 
of perfection. If fat would not congeal there would be 
no necessity for a grease-trap ; but, unfortunately, the 
thing which causes more stoppages in the plumbing than 




Fig. 99. 



anything else is the grease which is carelessly allowed to 
run into the pipes, there to stick layer after layer, until 
they are closed up entirely. 

The grease-trap partly obviates the difficulty. What- 
ever kind of trap is used it should be of good size, the 
reason being that it must hold a good quantity of cold 



yt> TRAPS 

water in order to solidify the grease as fast as it 
enters. 



Fig. ioo.* 

Buchan's grease-trap is illustrated in perspective and 
section in Fig. 99. 

Tucker's grease-trap is shown in Fig. 100. 



'• From the Plumber s Trade Journal. 



PART VII. 

SOIL-PIPES. 

SoiL-PIPE is the technical term employed by plumbers 
to designate the main drain of a house from the main 
trap, which connects with the sewer, to the roof, where 
it terminates. 

Whether the soil-pipe should be inside or outside the 
dwelling admits of no argument. It should be outside ; 
but climatic considerations unfortunately, prevent, by 
reason of frost, what could be made into an almost per- 
fect system of sanitary plumbing. 

The soil-pipe is the one which suffers from niggardly 
economy, although it is of the utmost importance. But 
it is not seen, hence, when a plumber, by reason of strong 
competition, is reduced to a price for his work not com- 
mensurate with the quality to be desired, he naturally 
scamps the job wherever possible. He saves lead in 
making the joints. The soil-pipe being in many lengths, 
with improper joints, allows sewer-gas to escape from the 
joints, which have become loosened from expansion and 
contraction, which amounts to considerable in a stack 
say 60 feet high. But more of this anon. 

Soil-pipes should always be of iron, and their arrange- 

(97) 



98 SOIL-PIPES 

ment should be such as to avoid bends altogether, ex- 
cept, of course, the bend from the perpendicular pipe to 
the sewer. They are generally put in entirely out of 
sight, and usually inaccessible into the bargain, which is 
altogether wrong. Soil-pipes should be in sight. Why? 
For the very reason already stated — the joints. Of what 
avail is an elaborate system of plumbing, when the whole 
is rendered useless for the prevention of the entrance 
of sewer-gas by the soil-pipe. 

Much ingenuity has been expended upon the appear- 
ance of plumbing, to the end that it may be " open." 
Fancy water-closets, highly finished, silver-plated pipes 
and traps — sometimes polished brass — all fastened to 
marble, etc., just for looks. But the soil-pipe, no one 
seems to have considered its possibilities in the line of 
beauty ; and yet of all the devices and appliances used 
in plumbing, it is the very one which should be in plain 
sight. Steam-pipes are run all over the house — through 
parlors, bedrooms, etc., and no one appears to object to 
them very seriously, so long as a coat of bronze powder 
is put on occasionally. Surely a soil-pipe could be ren- 
dered equally attractive ; or, since it must be out of 
sight, why is it not invariably encased in a wooden 
recess, the front of which could be easily removed by 
taking out a few screws. 

All soil, air, and waste pipes must not only be water- 
tight, but air-tight as well, which leads us to remark that 
the water-test, as applied to soil-pipes, is of no earthly 



SOIL-PIPES 99 

use so far as the latter consideration is concerned. Nor 
is the water-test just what it should be, even for water- 
leaking, for the reason that the pressure is distributed 
very unevenly ; the lower sections of pipes get a great 
deal the most testing, the pressure in the topmost sec- 
tions amounting to nothing in comparison. 

The soil-pipe should be the same diameter all the way 
to its end above the roof. It must have no dead ends. 
The extension above the roof should never be less than 
two feet, and the further the end can be placed from 
skylights, chimneys, or ventilators, the better. 

All the ends of pipes above the roof should be left 
wide open. In New York, a return bend is used which 
is objectionable,* and for which there is no reason, unless 
to keep out the rain, which is no reason at all. All 
sorts of ventilating devices have been invented for use 
on soil-pipe ends, but nothing equals the plain open 
end. 

Just as much attention should be paid to the joints 
of the air-pipes as to those of the soil-pipes. As they 
are placed in the system between the water-seal in the 
trap and the soil-pipe, it stands to reason they must 
carry off large quantities of foul gases, besides serving 
as a vent for the traps to prevent their being entirely 
emptied of water. Air-pipes are better carried through 
to the roof, although they are frequently joined to the 



* This has since been done away with. 



100 SOIL-PIPES 

soil-pipe above the highest fixture. We do not recom- 
mend the latter plan. 

When putting in soil-pipes it is necessary, of course, 
to insert a Y or a T branch at each floor, or wherever it 
is wanted. 

An elbow of wide radius should be used where the 
upright stack diverges into the portion which runs to 
the main trap, and which is, comparatively speaking, 
horizontal (it has a fall of at least J^ inch to the foot). 
As the stack is naturally very heavy, it follows that it 
should have a strong support ; a brick pier is the best. 

From the elbow to the sewer-trap the soil-pipe, or 
main drain as it is known, should be kept in plain sight. 
It is usual to suspend it along the cellar wall, or with 
hangers from the ceiling if the stack does not terminate 
near a side wall. Of course if there are any sinks or 
water-closets, or other fixtures in the cellar, the main 
drain must go still lower, and, if necessary, below the 
cellar floor level ; but no matter where it is, it should 
be where it can be seen. 

The main drain should not exceed 6 inches in diam- 
eter (the stack 5 inches for a large house) ; for a small 
house, a smaller size drain, — a drain 4 or 5 inches, — will 
answer. It should not deviate from a straight line, but if 
a curve cannot be avoided, see that it is of wide radius. 

The main drain should be trapped, and the trap set 
in a man-hole where it can be got at for cleansing pur- 
poses without much difficulty. A rain-water leader 



SOIL-PIPES 101 

should be made, if possible, to terminate on the house 
side of this trap, as it will serve to clean it out thor- 
oughly whenever there is a rain-storm. 

There now remains to be put in a fresh-air pipe, 
which is run from some point in the main drain back 
of the trap to a point in the sidewalk or garden, well 
removed from the windows. In New York you will 
notice a small iron grating set in the sidewalk near the 
edge, that is the fresh-air inlet placed there by direction 
of the Board of Health ; it permits air to pass complete- 
ly through the soil-pipe to its end on the roof. 

Having thus generally described soil-pipes and their 
connection with the main drain, we will proceed to 
details. 

CAST-IRON SOIL-PIPE. 

Soil-pipes as generally used throughout the United 
States are made of cast-iron, each length being made 
with a hub and spigot end. Lead soil-pipe was used to 
a large extent, as also was earthenware ; but both have 
been superseded by the cast-iron pipe, and the latter 
itself, as we will explain, bids fair to be soon entirely 
" put out of joint," as it were, by wrought-iron pipe 
which is screwed together. In the light of the advance 
which plumbing has recently made, it is not necessary 
to discuss the merits of any other soil-pipe except cast 
and wrought iron. 

Cast-iron pipes are usually made in 5-foot lengths. 
You will notice, as you become familiar with them, that 



102 SOIL-PIPES 

if there are any defects they are usually to be found at 
the hub end of the pipe, unless in pipe over 12 inches 
in diameter, when the defects, if any, will be found at 
the spigot end. The reason is this : the smaller pipes 
are cast hub up, while the larger pipes are cast hub 
down, so that whatever sand, etc., may be floated up- 
ward in the mould by the molten metal, of course 
mixes with the iron in the end which is at the top in 
casting. It was the practice at one time to cast iron 
pipe in a horizontal position, but it was found in course 
of time that the core, the specific gravity of which 
was much lighter than molten iron, was bent upward in 
the centre by the effort of the metal to float it. The 
pipe cast in this manner was, therefore, thicker on one 
side of the centre than the other. Casting in a perpen- 
dicular position obviated this difficulty. 

The following is a table showing the thickness of 
metal which should be in various sizes of iron soil-pipes : 

2-inch pipe T \ inch thick. 

3 T6 

4 " ..., | 

5 " A 

6 " ^toi " 

Before you use a piece of such pipe, strike it with the 
hammer to find out if it is sound and free from cracks. 
If it is all right, it will give a clear, bell-like note. They 
must not be painted before they are put up ; the paint- 



SOIL-PIPES 103 

ing must be left until after they have been tested in 
position. 

When you put up cast-iron soil-pipe see that the 
spigot end enters fairly into the hub below it, and that 
the pipes are in perfect alignment ; both hub and spigot 
must be clean. Then take twisted oakum, and with it 
form a gasket, which you will insert in the space between 
the hub and spigot ; take your calking tools and mallet 
and ram it in well ; if it is not tight you will find the lead, 
which follows, will run into the pipe. This gasket of 
oakum should fill about one-third of the space, and 
serves no other purpose but to hold the hot lead, which 
now goes in, from getting into the pipe. Now take 
your ladle full of melted lead (be sure you have enough 
to fill the joint in one pouring) and pour it in a contin- 
uous stream until the joint is full. As lead shrinks as it 
cools, the joint is not tight ; it is therefore necessary to 
thoroughly pound it in with calking tools. Be careful not 
to overdo it, for the calking puts a tremendous strain on 
the hub or collar, and it might break under the press- 
ure. The cut (Fig. ioi) shows exactly how such a joint 
should appear in section. 

The same appearance should also be presented when 
the joint is made with the pipes in a horizontal position. 
The operation of making this joint differs slightly, be- 
cause the lead cannot be poured into the joint without 
using something to retain it. The gasket of oakum is put 
in, in the same manner ; then, when ready for the lead, 



104 



SOIL-PIPES 



a roll of clay is pressed all around the face of the hub, 
leaving an opening at the top. Pour the lead in through 
the opening until full ; cut away the clay and surplus 
lead and then calk it thoroughly ; don't neglect the un- 
der side because it is hard to get at. 

When you have joined cast-iron pipe as described, 




--Rm^ of XeacL. 




Fig. 101. 



you will leave the joint as it was when you finished 
calking it. Use no paint or putty, but let the marks of 
the calking-irons show that you did not neglect that im- 
portant part of the work. 

The quantity of lead required for joining different 
sized pipes is as follows : 



SOIL-PIPES 



105 



DIAMETER 


OF 


PIPE. 


WEIGHT OF 

LEAD 
REQUIRED. 


DEPTH OF 

LEAD 
IN JOINT. 


2 inches 


2 lbs. 

2U « 

4 " 

7 " 


l/ 2 
1% 

iH 

2 


3 " 




« 


6 " 











There is another method, called the rust joint, of 
joining such pipes, and is much used for steam pipes. 
The " rust " is an iron cement, composed of iron filings 
or borings, flowers of sulphur, and sal-ammoniac. 

A quick cement is made of : 

i part flowers of sulphur. 
i part sal-ammoniac. 
98 parts iron. 



A slow cement consists of : 

1 part flowers of sulphur. 

2 parts sal-ammoniac. 
197 parts iron. 

Supposing you have now got your soil-pipe into posi- 
tion, it remains to be tested, which is done by filling 
it full of water. All the ends must be stopped up, of 
course. You will then carefully examine every portion 
of the surface of the pipe for leaks ; you may think 
because the hammer said it was sound, that it has no 
defects, but remember (we quote Mr, Baldwin Latham) : 



106 SOIL-PIPES 

" There are faults to which all articles made of cast- 
iron are liable, and which may escape observation even 
after the most careful scrutiny, and, in consequence, there 
will ever remain a certain degree of uncertainty as to 
the strength of iron castings, for there are numerous 
instances which may, more or less, affect the quality of 
the manufactured article — such as unequal contraction 
in cooking ; imperfections from latent flaws, which may 
be concealed by a covering of sound metal ; the brittle 
nature of the material ; the presence of some deleterious 
agent in the metal itself — all tending to render cast-iron 
more or less uncertain, and liable to fail without warn- 
ing 

" The proper admixture of the iron in the foundry is 
one of considerable importance in order to insure a per- 
fect casting ; for, as different varieties of iron have dif- 
ferent points of fusion and varying rates of cooling, 
unless a proper admixture is insured, the casting will 
have within itself an element tending to produce its 
own destruction ; for, while some of the metal may be 
in perfect fusion, other parts may be imperfectly fused, 
while again others may be burned, or, in cooling, some 
of the metals may cool faster or slower than others, 
consequently the casting may be thus brought to a state 
of unequal tension, or, as it is technically termed, ' hide- 
bound,' when such slight influences as sudden change 
of temperature may lead to its instant destruction." 

Cast-iron pipes, however, bid fair to be entirely super- 



SOIL-PIPES 107 

seded by wrought-iron pipes, jointed by screwing one 
into the other, or by the use of sleeves. It is the opin- 
ion of the author, and of the best master plumbers whom 
he has consulted, that this system of soil-piping must 
come into general use ; in fact, there is no good reason 
why even the soldered joint should not be dispensed 
with too, and the screw-thread joint used for everything. 



WROUGHT-IRON SOIL-PIPE. 

We have already called attention to the probability 
that wrought-iron pipe with screwed joints is destined 
soon to entirely supersede cast-iron pipe with calked 
joints, as a soil-pipe. 

In 1880, Mr. Caleb W. Durham obtained a patent, the 
principal claims of which were as follows : 

" 2. The combination, with the drain, of the vertical 
soil pipe, and a support therefor independent of the 
building substantially as specified. 

" 3. The combination with the rigid soil-pipe, and an 
independent support therefor, of the rigid branch pipe 
upon which the water-closet fitting is supported and 
secured, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 

" 5. The combination of the cast-water closet fitting 
provided with flange for the reception of the water- 
closet, with the rigid branch pipe, substantially as speci- 
fied." 

It has been erroneously supposed that this patent 



108 SOIL-PIPES 

covered the use of wrought-iron soil pipe and fittings. 
Such is not the case ; there is no invention about the 
pipe itself, nor in fact about any portion of the arrange- 
ment. A careful reading of the claims quoted will show 
that Mr. Durham patented a soil-pipe system which 
alone, or with supports independent of the building in 
which it might be placed, supported the water-closets in 
such building. 

With this in our minds, we easily understand what 
the Durham system is, viz. : a rigid soil-pipe, with equally 
rigid branches, upon which are set the water-closets, the 
whole capable of standing alone and independent of the 
building in which it is situated. 

The above plan has been modified by others success- 
fully, as we will explain further on. First, we will point 
out the merits of the wrought-iron soil-pipe itself. It is 
argued by a great many plumbers, — men, too, who ought 
to know better — that wrought-iron pipe rusts quicker 
than cast-iron pipe. This is perfectly true under cer- 
tain circumstances, but it is not true as regards its use 
as a soil-pipe, as is easily proved by an examination of 
the interior of wrought-iron soil-pipe after extended 
use. It is a well-known fact that cast-iron soil-pipe 
acquires, after a while, a coating of insoluble grease upon 
its interior surface which effectually prevents rust. Now, 
the author has failed to find any kind of pipe which 
does not acquire the same coating. Wrought-iron pipe 
most certainly does, which shows that the rust argument 



SOIL-PIPES 



109 



against it has been, and is, used without taking the cir- 
cumstances of the case into consideration -at all. 

The next, and about the only other argument we have 
heard against wrought-iron soil-pipe, is that the screw- 
joints are weak. This is absolute nonsense, and pro- 
ceeds only from blind prejudice. The accompanying 
drawing shows how the wrought-iron pipe joint is made 
for plumbing purposes (Fig. 102). B B B B is a fitting 




Fig. 102. 



designed for a " T " joint. Its peculiarity lies in the 
fact that it is so constructed as to enable the ends of the 
pipes A A and C to butt up against a shoulder, the pur- 
pose being to afford an interior surface without a break. 
This is shown at D D, etc., where the pipes are seen 
firmly seated against the shoulders, and presenting a 
continuous and smooth interior. 

It is at once obvious that, to accomplish this end, the 
screw-threads on both pipes and fitting must be straight, 



HO SOIL-PIPES 

— i. e., not tapered, for if they were tapered there never 
could be any certainty of a close joint between the end 
of the pipe and the shoulder of the fitting. There is, 
however, no objection to the straight threads provided 
they are cut to fit. 

Knowing how to make such a joint, we see at once that 
it is far superior to the hub and spigot joint, for the 
following reasons: First. If properly made, it is abso- 
lutely and permanently tight. Second. No amount of 
vibration, settling, expansion, or contraction, nor, in 
fact, any of the causes which usually destroy the efficacy 
of the hub and spigot joint, can disturb the wrought-iron 
joint. Third. It ensures a smooth interior, affording no 
lodgment for filth. 

Mr. Durham, being a man of progressive ideas, saw at 
once that such a joint was desirable, and under the title 
of " The Durham House-Drainage Company," makes 
the pipe and fittings described for plumbing pur- 
poses. 

But there was nothing patentable about all this. A 
result, however, of such a system of pipes and joints 
was, that the pipes and branches together, with the 
water-closets fastened to the ends of the branches, would 
stand alone, or, at any rate, could be used without any 
support from the building itself, and this was pat- 
ented. 

There is no advantage to be gained by making a soil- 
pipe system separate from the building ; as a matter of 



Soil-pipes 111 

fact, all soil-pipes should be fastened to the wall of the 
building itself ; then, when any settling takes place, as it 
surely will, the relative positions of the closets and 
floors are not changed. It will be readily seen that a 
rigid, separate soil-pipe — in other words, the Durham 
system — will stay up when the building settles, making 
it quite possible for something to break. 

Taking the foregoing statements into consideration, 
the author would earnestly recommend the use of 
wrought-iron pipe and fittings ; not resting upon a 
support independent of the building, but fastened to the 
building firmly at every floor, and forming, from a struc- 
tural point of view, an integral part of it, allowing the 
elbow at the bottom of the stack to hang free in order 
that any change in height, from settling or other causes, 
may be compensated for by the horizontal pipe from 
the elbow to the main trap, which can be moved up or 
down at the elbow end several inches without any dam- 
age resulting. 

Wrought-iron soil-pipe has been put up in the manner 
advocated, and was no infringement on the Durham 
system. The connections from the water-closets to the 
soil-pipe, instead of being " rigid " and of wrought-iron, 
as in the Durham system, were of lead pipe, joined to 
the wrought-iron pipe in the usual manner with a brass 
ferrule, which was screwed into the wrought-iron pipe 
and soldered to the lead pipe. 

The joints of wrought-iron soil-pipe are screwed to- 



112 SOIL-PIPES 

gether with chain tongs ; red lead and oil are used to 
make the joint perfect, as in gas or steam fitting. 

In case of repairs rendering it necessary to replace a 
section of wrought-iron pipe, it becomes a matter of 
some difficulty to cut it, but the Durham Co. have made 
tools especially for the purpose, which render the opera- 
tion comparatively easy. 



PART VIII. 

SEWER CONNECTION. 

THERE is one point about soil-piping which we have 
left untold, viz., the sewer connection, deeming it advisa- 
ble to treat the subject by itself. 

Before you set to work, ascertain the depth of the 
sewer and the lowest point at which you can reach it for 
the insertion of the pipe. The authorities will make the 
opening. We will assume that you have plenty of fall 
— more than a quarter of an inch to the foot. Now, dig 
your trench ; if the bottom is rock or hard ground, you 
can lay your drain-pipes on it without preparation ; but 
if the ground is soft and bad, you must make an artificial 
bottom of concrete on which to lay the pipes, then cover 
them with concrete and throw in the earth. 

Fig. 103 shows a sewer with the drain connected ; it 
also shows a valve or flap-trap. 

Flap-traps are made in several ways. Fig. 104 shows 

Mr. Latham's balance valve. This valve has an iron ball 

or weight which can be so adjusted that the flap will shut, 

no matter at what part of the sewer it is placed. You will 

easily understand that if an ordinary flap were placed 

(113) 



114 



SEWER CONNECTION 




Fig. 103. 




Fig. 104. 
above the centre line it would naturally hang open, and 
be of no use. 



SEWER CONNECTION 



115 



Fig. 105 shows in elevation 
the drain from the elbow at 
the foot of the stack to the 
sewer, including the main or 
running trap, with its connec- 
tion, behind the trap, for a 
fresh air inlet. 

We have already described 
the water -test. There are 
other tests of a chemical na- 
ture, well-known to plumbers ; 
such as the peppermint-test, 
or the smoke-test. 

The peppermint-test is de- 
scribed as follows by Mr. P. 
J. Davies. He says : 

" First, if you have a fresh 
air inlet, stop it up, and all 
other openings in sight con- 
nected with the drain. Next 
take two or three ounces of 
Hotchkiss' oil of peppermint 
(anybody else's oil of pepper- 
mint will do as well), and see 
that there is not the slightest 
trace to be found on the out- 
side of the bottle, or most likely this will spoil your test. 
Now, have about a gallon of boiling water, or sufficient 




116 SEWER CONNECTION 

for what you think will answer to carry the chemical 
into your drain and go to the highest points of the soil 
or air pipes, and carefully pour down this pipe the pep- 
permint, after which quickly pour down the hot water 
and stop up the end of the pipe. Be exceedingly care- 
ful not to spill the least traces of the peppermint about 
your hands, etc. ; then run down through the house, 
and to the places which you suspect, and see if you can 




Fig. 1 06. 

discover any traces of your oil of peppermint smell ; if 
so, it is a certainty that something is wrong. You 
should have an attendant drilled in the work with you." 

Mr. Davies then proceeds : 

" The sulphuretted ether is applied in much the same 
manner as the peppermint was, but will require three 
times the quantity ; and caution must be used not to 
get a light or fire near it or it will explode. It will hang 



SEWER CONNECTION 117 

about for weeks. Oil of aniseed and nitro-benzole have 
about the same effect as the oil of peppermint." 

THE SMOKE-TEST. 

To use the smoke-test, you must have a machine for 
the purpose, known as the asphyxiator. Burn tobacco- 
paper to produce the smoke, and pump it into the main 
drain. If there is a leak anywhere through the house 
the smoke will find its way through it. Fig. 106 shows 
the machine. 



PART IX. 

VENTS. 

Vents proper are distinct from ventilation. Ventila- 
tion is provided for by the air inlet already described, 
which enters the main drain behind the main trap (see 
Fig. 137, also Fig. 105). 

Vents are contrivances designed to prevent the empty- 
ing of the traps from siphonic action ; this will be read- 
ily understood by referring to the drawing (Fig. 107), 
which shows a wash-basin properly connected. As soon 
as the plug G in the bottom of the wash-basin is drawn, 
the water will rush down the pipe A through the trap 
B over the arch at H and down the waste-pipe E. If 
there were no air vent C, the water would all run away, 
and none would remain in the trap except a very little, 
insufficient to maintain the seal. The discovery of this 
fact, called siphonage, led to the adoption of the air 
vent. The action is as follows : 

After pulling the plug, the water runs down precisely 

as in the first instance, until it reaches the level of the 

trap's capacity at I ; the water which is then rushing 

down the waste-pipe D, instead of drawing the water 

from B after it, draws air down through the vent-pipe 
(118) 



VENTS 



119 



C, leaving the last trap full of water in the trap B. Di- 
vested of all scientific explanation, the above is precisely 

A 




Fig. 107. 

and exactly the action in every trap where a vent is 
used. 

In practice a separate .pipe is used to which the air 
vent is connected. Only the one pipe is shown in cut 
for sake of clearness. 



PART X. 



WATER-CLOSETS. 



We now come to the most important fixture put 
in by the plumber, viz. : the water-closet. To select a 
water-closet is a difficult matter, there are so many of 
them, and each manufacturer will claim that his is the 
best. The author would recommend only those closets 
using the wash-out principle. 




Fig. 108. Fig. 109. 

After an examination of all the closets made, it will 
be seen that they are really of two constructions only. 
First, those with machinery to be moved : such as the 
pan-closet (now obsolete), the valve -closet, and the 
plunger-closet. Second, those without any machinery 
except a water-pull : such as the hopper and the wash- 
out closet. 

There is no reason why space should be occupied 

(120) 



WATER-CLOSETS 



121 



with a description of closets which no sane person 
thinks of putting in nowadays, so we will omit them. 



i '■- ■■'■ W* 
lis M 




■; ..-'.,■■:■■' ■ :. 


1 Ji 


'BP? 


1 1 


;§';„■.. 




f (^S 


V 


in ■ 


1 ; - 

•A'-! 


«a 


1 

1 : 

1 ■ 

I 


>■- -^_:. : _ ., - 


^7^- 


Wm 


i 

I ■ 
jjif 


fe._ 


'■ k -■" ''V?'/ 








<"':■■'' 








S^£ W^ 




■^J 


BBBgaiafeaag 




fJRrHUBEIVCITrNY 



Fig. no. 
A good closet involves the principles shown in Figs. 
108 and 109, designed by Mr. Paul Gerhard. 



122 



WATER-CLOSETS 



Compare the modern fixture (Fig. no) with closets 
which are shown in Figs, in, 112, 113, and which to 




Fig. 112. 

the uninitiated eye look like complicated steam-engines. 
All the machinery shown was necessary to operate a 



WATER-CLOSETS 



123 




Fig. 113. 

valve, or pan, or slide ; neither of which was ever nec- 
essary at all, unless limited to the use of about a pint of 
water for flushing purposes. 



THE SANITAS WATER-CLOSET. 

The form of the Sanitas is very simple. The bowl 
and the trap are one and the same thing. There is no 
machinery of any kind in the closet itself ; the flushing 
is accomplished by the pressure of the water only. The 
supply-pipe enters the bowl below the normal level of 
the water remaining therein, and stands permanently 
full of water up to the cistern-valve. The water is held 
in the pipe by atmospheric pressure, the pipe being 
closed at the top by the cistern-valve, and at the bottom 
by the water in the closet-bowl (see Fig. 115, Sanitas). 

The form of the closet-bowl is such, that the surface 
of the water standing in it is very large. The water is 



124 WATER-CLOSETS 

deepest at the back of the bowl, and very deep at the 
point where the waste strikes. All parts of the trap 
and bowl are easily accessible from the bowl itself. 

The makers claim that this closet can be flushed with 
less than a gallon and a half of water, but the more water 
used the better. They then go on to say : 

" The water does not have to fall from the cistern to 
the closet before it begins to work. In the second place, 
the friction of air in the pipe is avoided, and the water 
exerts at once its full power in discharging the waste 
matters. Hence a very considerable economy of water is 
the result. As already stated, the upper orifice is placed 
below the level of the standing water in the closet-bowl, 
but above the dip of the trap. This position of the 
upper jet gives us another very important advantage. 
Should the water in the closet be lowered by evapora- 
tion or siphonage below the upper orifice, air will at 
once enter the supply-pipe through this orifice, and 
water will then descend from the pipe into the closet 
through the lower orifice, until the upper orifice is again 
covered, and the seal of the trap is thus automatically 
maintained by the water in the supply-pipe. This pipe 
may be made capacious enough to restore the seal as 
often as it is likely ever to require it. A pipe ij4, or 2 
inches in diameter and 6 feet long will contain water 
enough to secure the seal against destruction by evapo- 
ration for a great many months, even in the driest and 
hottest weather. Hence the closet may be left to itself 



WATER-CLOSETS 125 

in city houses for the entire summer's vacation without 
fear on this score, and the danger of a loss of seal 
through siphonage is also reduced to a minimum 

" It will also be observed that the closet is provided 
with a cistern overflow connection, which may serve also 
when desired for a seat ventilation-pipe connection, by 
continuing the overflow-pipe above the cistern, and en- 
tering it into a suitable ventilating flue. In this case 
the overflow-pipe must dip into the water of the cistern 
and descend nearly to its bottom. 

" An important advantage in having the trap and 
bowl of a water-closet combined in this simple form, is 
that they may be easily emptied in winter to prevent 
freezing. This is sometimes desirable in the case of 
summer residences which are closed up in winter. The 
water may be easily sponged or pumped out of this 
closet without taking it apart." 

Figs. 114 and 115 show the Sanitas closet in posi- 
tion. This water-closet is very easy to set. The illus- 
tration (Fig. 116) shows its appearance when properly 
set, with cistern and fittings complete. 

It is important that the cistern be placed directly over 
the water-closet, in such a manner that the supply-pipe 
from cistern to closet shall be vertical, and as direct as 
possible. Every additional bend increases the friction 
of the flowing water, and impairs the working of the 
closet, especially where the cistern has to be set low. 

Any wooden cistern holding ten or more gallons of 



126 



WATER-CLOSETS 



water up to the overflow, will serve for the Sanitas 
closet and valve. The cistern should be of wood, of 
the usual make, lined with sheet metal, as customary, 
preferably with 16-ounce tinned copper. 





Fig. 114. 



Fig. 115. 



If an iron cistern be used, a hole just large enough to 
take the valve should be bored in its bottom before set- 
ting, and preferably before painting or enamelling. The 
valve must then be secured to the bottom of the cistern, 
using red or white lead and leather between the flange 



WATER-CLOSETS 



127 




Fig. 116. 



128 WATER-CLOSETS 

of the valve and the bottom of the cistern, to make the 
joint water-tight. 

The bottom of the cistern should be placed as high in 
the room as possible, and not less than 7 feet above the 
floor on which the closet stands, with the supply-pipe 
straight and direct. If it is impossible to have the sup- 
ply-pipe straight and direct, or in other words, to have 
the cistern directly over the closet, the height of the 
cistern should be greater than the above, in proportion 
to the degree of indirectness or crookedness and corre- 
sponding friction in the supply-pipe. 

The supply-pipe, from cistern to water-closet, should 
be \y 2 inches inside diameter. 

The supply-pipe from the cistern to the water-closet 
is intended to stand permanently full of water, which is 
sustained in the pipe by atmospheric pressure, on the 
principle which sustains water in a bottle filled with 
water and inverted over a basin full of water. Therefore 
particular care should be taken by the plumber to make 
the connections of this pipe absolutely air as well as 
water tight. The smallest leak hole, especially at the 
upper connection, will let air into the pipe when water 
will not show the leak by escaping. This will allow the 
water to descend out of the pipe, and the operation of 
the closet will be injured. A want of tightness may be 
detected by a faint hissing noise of air rushing into the 
top of the pipe immediately after flushing. To hear this 
hissing noise it will often be necessary to hold up the 



WATER-CLOSETS 129 

ball-cock and shut off the noise of filling the cistern, and 
hold the ear close to the suspected point on the pipe. 
Another sign by which it may be known if the supply- 
pipe contains air, is the bubbling noise in the water- 
closet bowl, occasioned by the air escaping through the 
water in the closet, when the flushing commences. If 
the .pipe stands full of water, as it should, the water in 
the closet-bowl will descend immediately and silently, 
without bubbling, the instant the valve is opened. 

Where a high cistern is used, the power of the flush- 
ing is sometimes so great as to lower the water in the 
closet-bowl below the dip of the trap, thus opening an 
air-passage for the escape of noise from the lower jet. 
A special adjusting mechanism has been added to the 
lower coupling, by which the strength of the flush may 
be regulated at pleasure, by simply turning a small screw 
on the coupling with an ordinary screwdriver. When 
the slot in the head of the adjusting screw is in a line 
with the length of the coupling, the flush has its maxi- 
mum strength. When it is at right angles with the 
coupling, it has its minimum strength. It is best to 
place the cistern as high as possible in the room (pro- 
vided the height of the room be not over 12 or 14 feet), 
and then regulate the power of the flush with the adjust- 
ing screw until a sufficient flush is attained without a 
noisy action. 

This improvement of the adjusting screw greatly facil- 
itates the setting of the closet, and enables the owner 



130 WATER-CLOSETS 

to control the amount of flush at pleasure. When de- 
sired, he may thus render the closet so noiseless in 
action that, with the seat down, and the toilet-room 
door closed, not the slightest noise can be heard from 
without, and the closet can be used, off the main hall, 
for instance, unknown to the other occupants of the 
house. 

Inasmuch as the water-closet supply-pipe must be 
kept air-tight, so as to stand always full of water, a 
separate overflow-pipe must be provided for the cistern. 
This pipe should either connect with a system of fixture 
or safe overflow-pipes, made for the various fixtures, or 
their safes in the house, as is done in some cases, or else 
simply connect with the closet flushing rim, as shown in 
the perspective, a coupling being provided on the closet 
for the purpose. Here any leakage will show itself at 
once on the sides of the bowl. It will also announce 
itself by a hissing noise at the ball-cock. This pipe may 
also serve as a seat-vent, if desired, by connecting it with 
a special ventilation flue above the cistern, as explained 
in the perspective. This vent-pipe will serve also to 
ventilate the entire room, and is an excellent method of 
ventilating a toilet-room. 

SOIL-PIPE CONNECTION. 

The lead pipe which is to connect the closet with the 
iron soil-pipe, is to be first flanged over the hole in the 
shoe at the floor, and the closet is then set in place on the 



WATER-CLOSETS 131 

shoe, and screwed down by means of four brass machine 
screws, which are furnished with each closet. Where 
wrought-iron waste-pipes are used the lead connecting 
pipe is not needed, the closet being supported on the 
wrought-iron branches. The holes in the earthenware 
base correspond with the threaded holes tapped in the 
shoe, but are made a little larger than the screws, to 
allow of a certain amount of play for adjustment. Brass 
and leather washers are used to cover these holes, and 
protect the earthenware from injury. A red lead and 
putty mixture is used between the earthenware base and 
the shoe. The earthenware and metal then become, 
as it were, one piece, and the closet is thus independent 
of shrinkage or settling of the floors. All movement 
takes place in the flexible lead pipe below, which should 
always be used between the closet and cast-iron soil-pipe. 
The joint thus becomes a permanently sewer-gas tight 
metallic joint, which cannot be injured by jarring, set- 
tlement, or shrinkage in the building. This kind of con- 
nection is now acknowledged by sanitary engineers and 
plumbers as the only perfectly safe one for water-closets 
known. The trap vent-pipe, if used, should be connected 
with the lead waste-pipe, instead of with the earthen- 
ware, as this avoids all danger of cracking the earthen- 
ware, or of clogging, and is easier and tighter and safer 
for the plumber to connect. But the Sanitas closet does 
not require trap-venting. 



132 



WATER-CLOSETS 




yfH* 



Fig. 117. 



WATER-CLOSETS 133 

BOYLE'S PNEUMATIC CLOSET. 

In 1884, James E. Boyle, a sanitary engineer, invented 
the system of successfully operating a water-closet in 
which the functions that had been assigned to a compli- 
cated arrangement of mechanical parts, should be per- 
formed by natural means — a siphon outflow started on 
the pneumatic principle. 

Mr. Boyle's first closet was the " Tidal Wave " (he 
afterwards produced the " Geyser" and " Crystal "). It 
has a large, deep water-seal in the bowl and an additional 
seal of i}4 inches in a trap below it, all made in one 
piece of earthenware. (See sectional view on page 132.) 

The cistern consists of a storage reservoir and a flush- 
ing chamber to hold a limited quantity of water, three 
gallons (no more being necessary to operate the closet), 
which is admitted through a 3^-inch valve A, when 
pulling the chain, and holding it for four seconds. 

The flushing water passes through the injector (or 
trombe) B, and the flashing-pipe to the bowl, being in 
communication with the air-pipe C, by means of the 
branch D, a portion of the air is sucked by the falling 
water out of the air-space through the air-pipe, creating a 
partial vacuum in the limb of the bowl between the two 
water-seals. Thus the atmosphere in the room being 
heavier than that in the confined space, starts a siphon 
sufficient to empty the contents of the bowl over the dam 
and through the lower trap into the soil-pipe. The flow of 



134: WATER-CLOSETS 

water through the flushing-rim is not only strong enough 
to thoroughly cleanse the bowl, but also sufficient in 
quantity to leave a perfectly clean water-seal in both 
bowl and trap. The siphon is broken by admission of 
air through the air-pipe C. 

This breaking of the siphon is an ingenious and most 
simple device, which will be explained by referring to 
the sectional view of the cistern. 

The air-pipe C leads to the point F ; it is surrounded 
by the injector-pipe f, and both are covered by a capped 
or inverted tube reaching downward to the point G. 
These pipes are again encased by the tube H, which 
passes through the reservoir of the cistern to the coup- 
ling I, to which is connected a vent-pipe leading to a 
heated flue, or to the roof. 

When filling the flushing-chamber (or service-box) the 
water traps the air-pipe inlet at G and shuts off all air. 
Siphoning of the bowl begins and continues after closing 
the valve A, until the service-box empties itself to the 
point G, when air is again admitted through the air-pipe, 
thus breaking the siphon. The portion of the water 
then left in the service-box is used to refill the bowl. 

It is claimed that this natural method of operating a 
water-closet with a deep seal is the most perfect sanitary 
appliance invented. The sale of over 25,000 pneumatic 
closets of this make during ten years is unexcelled in 
this country. 

The " Surf" (Fig. 118) belongs to the class of siphon 



WATER-CLOSETS 



135 



closets to be distinguished from pneumatic closets, as 
illustrated and described on preceding pages, and is also 
patented by Mr. Boyle. 

In the Surf closet the bowl is flushed by the action of 
a siphon formed in the soil-passage, aided by a water-jet 
diverted from the flushing connection, and directed into 




Fig. 1 1 8. 

the air-space between the traps. Bowl and cistern are 
connected by a single ij^-inch flushing-pipe. 

EXPLANATION. 

When operated, only a portion of the flushing water 
flows into the rim of the bowl, the remainder falls down 



136 



WATER-CLOSETS 



the jet opening G through the air-space, and compresses 
the air therein. This compression is instantly relieved 
by an escape of air through the passage H, which bub- 
bles up from the opening h, and enters the passage on 
the discharge side of the lower trap. The jet effects a 




rarefaction in the upper part of the air-space, drawing 
the air down with it, and the bowl discharges instan- 
taneously. 

The siphon action of the closet is very strong, and 
continues as long as there is a full down flow of flushing 
water, As the flushing decreases, the siphon is broken 



WATER-CLOSETS 137 

by admitting air into the air-space through the outlet of 
the bowl. The bowl is then refilled by a quick after- 
wash. 

The bowl is ventilated through the passage p and 
opening o, and the external passages on both sides of 
the bowl leading to the back. 

THE " UNION " PEDESTAL HOPPER (BOYLE'S PATENT). 

The " Union " Pedestal Hopper (Fig. 119) presents 
many desirable features. The descending limb of the 
hopper is in the back, and the outlet is brought under 
centre of bowl, which permits setting of hopper I2J^ 
inches from centre of outlet to wall, leaving ample space 
for bends and waste connections under floor. Referring 
to sectional view, it will be seen that this hopper is 
suitable for old plumbing work, as its size is kept within 
limits, and it may be used in place of almost any other 
water-closet. 

The back-air vent is provided with Boyle's reversible 
connection ; it is fully 2 inches in diameter, and placed 
at the crown of trap, 2^ inches from wall. 

The water-seal is \]/ 2 inches, and as large as it can be 
made to insure an effective discharge of contents. The 
water surface is 6 by 5 inches, preventing the soiling of 
the bowl, an objection found in the ordinary short 
hopper. 



138 



WATER-CLOSETS 
2H£~lNr 




BApKAIR 
VENT, 



Fig. 1 20. 

BACK OUTLET WASH-OUT CLOSET. 
(Sectional view showing dimensions of closet and posi- 
tion of back-air vent. Distance from centre of back-air 
vent to floor, 5 inches.) 

Fig. 121 is the same in principle as the pneumatic 
closet already shown in Fig. 117, but has even a stronger 
siphonic action, and requires the ordinary plumber's trap 
below the floor, as shown. 

AUTOMATIC CLOSETS. 
There are many places where an automatic closet must 
be used, such as railway stations, public buildings, insti- 
tutions, etc., etc. 



WATER-CLOSETS 




139 
I 



a, 



Fig. 121. 



140 WATER CLOSETS 

An automatic closet is one which does not require 
any manipulation whatever. It has no pull. The mech- 
anism which operates it is beneath the seat, and only a 
very slight weight is required to work the lever which 
pulls the rod, to left of water-pipe, and allows the flush- 
ing process to take place. 



PART XI. 

SINKS. 

One of the most difficult problems in sanitary plumb- 
ing is the disposal of kitchen waste. 

The fatty substances dissolved in the hot water of 
dish-washing are in ordinary kitchen sinks discharged 
into the waste-pipes, where they quickly congeal and 
clog them. To overcome this difficulty innumerable 
devices have been invented, but hitherto without much 
success. 

Large pot-traps have been used under the sink with 
the view to collecting the grease before it enters the 
main waste-pipes. But these traps require constant 
attention to remove the accumulating filth at suitable 
intervals, and as there is nothing in their mechanism to 
remind the servant when they require emptying, and as 
the emptying is an extremely offensive operation, owing 
to the putrid condition of the contents of the trap, the 
work is neglected, and the waste-pipes become obstructed 
as much as if no pot-trap existed. Moreover, the trap 
must, on account of its weight, be placed on or below 
the floor, leaving a considerable length of pipe between 
it and the sink outlet to be clogged. 

(141) 



142 



SINKS 



Large grease-traps have been used, but they are open 
to the same serious objections as the pot-traps and ut- 
terly fail to solve the problem. 

Flush-pots with ordinary outlet plugs have been tried ; 
but as the outlets must necessarily be operated by the 
persons who use the sink, it is found that sooner or 
later they are improperly used, and then greater objec- 
tions than ever result. 

Any simple plug outlet in kitchen sinks offers a tempt- 





\ / 




o c « occeeooce] 
oeoeoooeeeoe "- 






ooeoeeooeoee 




eeeeeoeoeoeo 












tr > occeeoo*©© 








Ooeeoeeeeece 












ooe-ooooe •«©• J 


/ \ 





Fig. 122.— Plan of the Sanitas Kitchen Sink. 



ing waste receptacle for solid refuse, which an ignorant 
servant is certain to scrape into it, to avoid the trouble 
of its proper removal ; and even with the greatest care, 
there is nothing to prevent the accidental passage of 
solid matters sufficient to clog the trap, through this 
outlet ; particularly where the strainer is movable, and 
in practice this is what is found to occur. 

It has been assumed at the outset as an indispensable 
condition in the apparatus, that absolutely nothing 



STNKS 



143 



should be dependent upon the intelligence and care 
of the servant, and that by no possibility could the 
waste-passages become clogged, either by accident or 
by design. In short, that the operation should be en- 
tirely automatic, and that the form of the outlet should 




iw 



Fig. 123. 

be such that no solid refuse could possibly gain access 

to it. 

These results can be obtained as follows : 

Fig. 122 represents the plan, and Fig. 123 -the section 

of the apparatus. It consists of the combination of a 

square flush-pot with an ordinary kitchen-sink, in such a 



144 SINKS 

manner as to provide a sink of the ordinary appearance 
and form above, but having a deep portion or flush-pot 
at the end, with an automatic discharge. 

An upper, or horizontal strainer, covers the entire 
flush-pot, and is hinged to one end of the sink, so that 
it may be opened when it is desired to use the deep 
part of the sink. The sink is discharged by means of a 
self-acting siphon, and a vertical strainer is interposed 
between the flush-pot and its siphon. The short arm of 
the siphon is trapped with a seal-retaining trap of the 
Sanitas trap principle, just behind the vertical strainer. 
This strainer slides upward in a groove to give access to 
the trap when desired, but closes again automatically by 
its own weight as soon as released. Clean-out open- 
ings are provided at the trap and weir chamber, and 
give access to every part of the waste system. No 
bones and solid refuse can be scraped into the discharge 
outlet and dropped into the waste-pipe, because this 
pipe ascends instead of descending at the outlet ; and 
should the trap be clogged, it will simply cause the 
water to cease flowing out until the obstruction is re- 
moved, which can easily be done by simply raising the 
lower strainer and lifting out the obstruction by hand. 

Fig. 123 shows the operation of the Sanitas Kitchen 
Sink and Flush-pot, as follows : The sink is used in 
the ordinary manner until the flush-pot fills to the 
height of the siphon overflow. When this point has 
been reached, the next discharge of a quart or two of 



SINKS 



145 



water suddenly emptied from the washing-pan charges 
the siphon and causes the entire contents of the flush- 
pot to rush out through the waste passages, filling them 
full bore, and scouring them from end to end. The solid 
matter and large lumps of grease will be left on the bot- 
tom of the flush-pot, and must be removed by the serv- 




Fig. 124. — A Kitchen Sink. 



ant in the proper manner, inasmuch as they cannot pos- 
sibly be removed in any other way. 

The foregoing description applies to a sink combining 
every desirable feature. The kitchen sink, such as is 
usually found in flats and tenements, is nothing more 
than a cast-iron tray, to which is connected a waste-pipe 
with an c/3-trap. 



146 



SINKS 




Fig. 125. — Porcelain Slop-sink, with trap and fittings made 
by the Sanitas Manufacturing Co. 



PART XII. 

CISTERNS FOR WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 

The cistern for water-closets is the apparatus designed 
to always contain a sufficient quantity of water for flush- 
ing purposes. The cut (Fig. 126) will show how this is 




accomplished. The box is generally made of wood 

lined with metal. An inlet-pipe is provided with a 

stop-cock operated by the hollow ball. When the 

cistern is empty, the ball drops to the bottom and in 

falling opens the stop-cock, water again flows in and 

(147) 



148 CISTERNS FOR WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 

raises the floating ball, until at a predetermined level, 
it shuts the stop-cock and the flow of water ceases. 

The outlet pipe is made of large diameter in order to 
provide for a rapid flow of water into the water-closet 
hopper. It is normally closed by a valve. The opening 
is effected by pulling a chain, which raises the valve and 
the weight, allowing the water to escape. As soon as 
the chain is released the weight falls and the valve is 
again closed. The valve is continued to the water level 
as a tube and is hollow : this is for the purpose of using 
it as an overflow, so that should the ball stick fast and 
allow the water to run, the excess would run down 
through the tube and do no harm. 

BEAUMONT'S PATENT "POSITIVE" FLUSHING CISTERN, 
FOR URINALS, HOPPERS, AND LATRINES. 

The cistern (Fig. 127) is provided with a pet cock 
connected with the supply-pipe, which can be set at will 
to admit more or less water. As the water rises in the 
cistern, it lifts the copper float A and carries it up as 
the water level increases. This float is attached to the 
lever B, having a pawl C which when tilting and slowly 
moving downward strikes the end of the opposite lever 
D, and carries this down with it, until the pawl C frees it- 
self from the lever D. This movement of the lever D has 
lifted its counterweight E, which upon the freeing of the 
lever drops back, and in falling it acquires a considerable 
momentum, so that it lifts the rod Fand valve G attached 



CISTERNS FOR WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 149 

to it. The siphon H is by this time nearly all under 
water, and as the water begins to flow out underneath 
the valve G it starts the siphon, and empties the cistern. 



Fig. 127. — Sectional View. 

The suction of the flushing water quickly draws the 
valve back to its place. The operation of this flushing 
cistern is positive under all conditions, whether there is 
a quick and heavy supply of water, or a slow filling of 



150 CISTERNS FOR WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 

the cistern under a very low pressure. The cistern is 
also well adapted for flushing hoppers and latrines, as it 
is made of any desired size to flush from 2 or 20 gallons 
of water at a time; it is therefore a most desirable appli- 
ance for public places, hospitals, and railroad dep6ts, 
where a number of fixtures are constantly in use. 



Fig. 128. 
BOYLE'S PERIODICAL FLUSHING CISTERN, FOR URINALS. 
The construction of this cistern is extremely simple, the 
operation is positive, and will be easily understood by re- 
ferring to the sectional view (Fig. 128). It shows the cis- 



CISTERNS FOR WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 151 

tern half filled, the supply-cock is open and fills the right- 
hand compartment of the tilting bucket. The bucket 
tilts when full, emptying into the cistern, and this brings 
the left-hand compartment under the supply-cock. It 
tilts again when filled. This operation is repeated sev- 
eral times, until the water is at a height nearly level with 
the stand-pipe, and another turn of the bucket starts the 
siphon, emptying the cistern and flushing the urinal. 



PART XIII. 

BATH-TUBS. 

BATH-TUBS are made of iron, copper, zinc, earthen- 
ware, marble, or, in short, of any substance which can 
be made to hold water. There is no question about 
which is the best. The porcelain tub is preferable to 
any other ; after it comes the porcelain-lined tub, which 
is made of iron, with a coating of so-called porcelain 
over its inner surface. 

Bath-tubs nowadays form one of the most important 
fixtures in a modern residence. With the exception of 
tenements, rookeries, and old houses, probably every 
modern residence and flat in New York possesses a 
fixed bath-tub. Indeed, there are a few mansions with 
a plunge-bath in the cellar. 

A bath-tub, when set up properly, is connected with 
a hot-water pipe, cold-water pipe, overflow-pipe, and 
waste-pipe. See Fig. 129, which shows a porcelain-lined 
tub of the latest improved style with open plumbing. 

In setting bath-tubs a trap must always be used be- 
tween the tub and the branch or main soil-pipe. There 

are instances where the trap can be dispensed with ; as, 
(152) 







Fig. 129. 
AN IDEAL BATH-TUB. 



(153) 



154 BATH-TUBS 

for instance, where the waste can enter another waste- 
pipe directly above its trap, but it is not a desirable 
arrangement. 

SHOWER-BATH. 

The shower-bath, douche, and needle-bath are all 
variations of the same thing. A shower-bath, with a 
hand-spray attached, is shown in Fig. 130. A shower- 
bath is also provided with both hot and cold water, 
admitted through the pipes you see ascending from the 
floor to the faucets. Hot and cold water can be drawn 
jointly or singly by manipulating the faucets, which 
admit the water from both pipes to the single pipe which 
supports the rose. The shower descends to a tray of 
marble or other material, and finds its way through a 
waste-pipe trapped in the usual manner. 




Fig. 130. 



(155) 



PART XIV. 

WASH-TUBS. 

Not long ago, even a city wash-tub was a veritable 
tub of cedar hooped with iron, like a pail. Nowadays 
the wash-tubs found in houses of only modest pretend 




Fig. 131. 

sions are handsome-looking fixtures, with hot and cold 
water connections (see Fig. 131). 

These tubs are set two, three, or four in a row, and 
(156) 



WASH-TUBS 157 

sometimes more, all connected to the same waste-pipe, 
with one trap serving for the whole. 

The drawing shows a pair of porcelain tubs made by 
the Henry Huber Co., of New York. Wooden tubs are 
not desirable, as they will smell. 

Wash-tubs are the medium by means of which soap 
in large quantities finds its way into the waste-pipe. It 
is true the soap is dissolved, but some of it invariably 
sticks to the waste-pipe, and together with bits of thread, 
unravelled cotton, etc., finally chokes up the waste-pipe 
altogether. As usually set, the tubs do not permit of a 
sufficient fall being given to the waste-pipe, especially if 
there are three or four tubs. Therefore every wash-tub 
waste-pipe should have a screw, or some means pro- 
vided in order that it may be easily cleaned out. 

The suggestion on the following page is applicable 
particularly in flats, where the waste will be found very 
often connected in the manner shown. 

It suggested itself to the author as a simple and 
efficacious way of providing means to clean out the 
wash-tub waste-pipe, A, A, which frequently becomes 
clogged. It is very seldom, in setting up wash-tubs, that 
a sufficient fall is given to the waste-pipe, A. As the 
wash-tubs are frequently used for other purposes, espe- 
cially in tenements, where they do duty as ice-boxes and 
coal-bins, it is no wonder they sometimes become ob- 
structed. The obstruction is generally to be found in 
the lower section, marked A ; there is usually a faucet, 



158 



WASH-TUBS 




WASH-TUBS 159 

which, when opened, permits hot water from the 
boiler to flow through the pipe A. Now, there is no 
way, except by cutting, of removing an obstruction from 
the pipe A, A, as the turns in the joints are too short 
for a rattan. The author therefore recommends the use 
of a screw at C, directly opposite the end of pipe A, A, 
which could be removed for the insertion of a rattan 
into the waste-pipe. The same kind of a screw as the 
one used in the bottom of the trap is required. 



PART XV. 

KITCHEN BOILERS. 

THE original kitchen boiler — and it is still in use in 
England — consisted of an iron water-trough, placed 
alongside the grate. This trough required to be filled 
by hand ; it held but a few gallons of water, and fre- 
quently blew up, necessitating a new kitchen fireplace, 
new furniture, and very often a funeral. This boiler 
never blew up when full, the water never became hot 
enough for that. It blew up when empty and hot, as 
any other boiler which is acted upon by the fire direct 
will do if suddenly deluged with water. 

The modern kitchen boiler is the result of a knowl- 
edge of the fact that hot water ascends, while cold water 
descends ; that is to say, if a vessel of water be placed 
upon a fire, the water in the bottom of the vessel of 
course becomes heated first ; as it acquires heat it 
ascends to the top, allowing the colder water to pass 
down and be heated in its turn, this process continuing 
so long as the body of water can be heated unevenly. 
This is called circulation, and because of it we have our 

modern kitchen boiler, which doesn't blow up. 
(160) 



KITCHEN BOILERS 161 

A little experiment will show the truth of the fore- 
going statement. 

Instead of putting the vessel of water on the fire, put 
the fire on the top of the vessel of water ; the result will 
be a little hot water in the top of the vessel ; the water 
in the bottom will remain perfectly cold. 
' To heat the water in a suitable boiler for household 
purposes, it is not necessary that the boiler should be 
acted upon by the fire ; a pipe properly connected, which 
passes through the fire, is sufficient. Such an arrange- 
ment is shown in Fig. 133. 

F. — Cold water supply-pipe. 

E. — Interior tube intended to convey the cold water 
supply and discharge it near the bottom of the boiler. 

I and H. — Cold water circulation pipes connecting 
the bottom of the boiler with the water-back. 

K. — Water-back. 

J. — Hot water circulation pipe connecting the water- 
back with the side of the boiler, at about one-quarter its 
height. 

A. — Hot water delivery-pipe. 

G. — Sediment-pipe. 

A glance at the section will show at once what takes 
place within the boiler. It will be noticed that the cold 
water supply-pipe goes down inside the boiler to near the 
bottom ; this is so for two reasons : first, that the cold wa- 
ter may not mix at once with the hot water in the top of 
the boiler ; and, second, that the cold water may pass 



162 



KITCHEN BOILERS 



through the hot water before it is discharged into the 
boiler. The pipe, I, H, takes the cold water from the 
bottom of the boiler to the water-back, K, where the 
water is heated, causing it to flow upward through the 




Fig. 133. 

pipe, J, into the boiler, where, by virtue of the circula- 
tion process already described, it immediately finds its 
way to the top of the boiler, where it is stored until the 
rest of the water becomes equally heated. It then de- 



KITCHEN BOILERS 163 

scends again, passes through I and H, through the water- 
back, up J to the boiler, and so on ad infinitum. 

It is seen at once that our modern boiler cannot blow- 
up like our old-country friend the water-trough. 

Nothing of the kind can happen to our boiler. If it 
should become empty, the water-back would probably 
crack with the very first touch of cold water, but this 
would not affect the boiler itself. On the other hand, 
should the water in the boiler become overheated no 
harm could result, because the supply-pipe, E, F, would 
take the pressure, which would merely back up the 
water in the main or tank, as the case may be. 

But here a problem presents itself, which problem is 
the outcome of unforeseen circumstances. It may happen 
that some outside cause — such as a fire-engine drawing 
water from the same main ; a break in the main ; or a 
heavy leak in the supply-pipes, — will draw the water from 
the boiler and its connections. Under such circum- 
stances, there being no way for the entrance of air, the 
boiler collapses. It collapses because nature abhors a 
vacuum. 

Now, the problem is this, to prevent the water from 
leaving the boiler in any but the proper manner, viz., 
through the pipe A. 

This problem is solved by means of a check-valve 
placed somewhere in the supply-pipe between the main 
and the boiler. The check-valve is automatic in its 
action. While it allows the water to enter freely 



164: 



KITCHEN BOILERS 



through the supply-pipe, it will permit no water to pass 
out by the way it came in. 

But — and, again, but — the check-valve not only pre- 
vents the water being drawn from the boiler, it also con- 




Fig. 134- 



fines the pressure, if the boiler is overheated. The natu- 
ral and only safety-valve for a kitchen boiler is the sup- 
ply-pipe ; stop that up, and the result must at least be 
an undue strain, though, fortunately, very seldom an ex- 
plosion, 



KITCHEN BOILERS 165 

DOUBLE BOILERS. 

Double boilers are used where the head of water is 
not sufficient to supply the upper floors of a house where 
but one boiler is used. 

The double boiler simply consists of one boiler within 
-the other, the outside boiler being connected with the 
street main, and the inside boiler with the tank. The 
water-back is connected with the outside boiler only, 
which in turn heats the water contained in the inside 
boiler. 

A reference to the illustration (Fig. 134) shows plainly 
how this is accomplished. The baths, wash-basins, etc., 
situated on the floors above the head of the water supply 
from the street, are all connected with the outlet-pipe, 
marked " tank hot," while all the fixtures below the head 
of water supply are connected with the pipe marked 
" tank cold. " The water supply is connected from street 
and tank as marked. 

Double boilers, together with the arrangement known 
as Boyle's patent cut-off, can be dispensed with by using 
a pump, which is placed usually in the cellar, for the 
purpose of pumping hot water. But the excessive 
labor involved in pumping water to the height of even 
two stories is an objection, if done by hand. 



166 



KITCHEN BOILERS 



BOYLE S PATENT CUT-OFF — TO TAKE THE PLACE OF 
A DOUBLE BOILER. 



WATER 




Fig- 135. 



KITCHEN BOILERS 



167 



BOYLE'S PATENT 
CUT-OFF. 

To save the complica- 
tions and excessive cost 
of the two boilers and 
their connections Boyle's 
.patent cut-off was devised 
(see Fig. 135). 

We have already said 
that in dwellings where 
the street-pressure is not 
sufficient to deliver water 
in the upper part of the 
house, it is customary to 
supply this portion from a 
tank, which fills at night 
through a float-valve or 
into which the water is 
forced through pumps. 
This arrangement answers 
well for cold water, but in 
order to provide the up- 
per stories with hot water, 
two distinct hot - water 
systems become necessary, 
or the employment of two 
boilers, one within the oth- 
er; one holding hot water 
under high-pressure sup- 



a r - floor . 



3 f? FLO Off. 



£•? FLOOR . 



M 



PARLOR.. 



at 



BASE 

1 <-•,£?;.. 



INT 



Fig. 136. 



168 KITCHEN BOILERS 

plied from the tank and connected with the faucets on 
the upper floors, and the other, being the low-pressure 
boiler, supplied from the street-main and connected 
with the faucets on the lower floors. 

Fig. 136 shows the cut-off connected with the tank 
and boiler. The faucets on the lower floors, in this 
instance, basement and parlor floors, are supplied from 
street-pressure, and at no time from tank-pressure. The 
faucets on the second, third, and fourth floors are sup- 
plied from tank-pressure. At the moment when a hot- 
water faucet is opened on the upper floors the boiler is 
put under high-pressure, and hot water will flow from 
the boiler through the cut-off, and thence to the open 
faucet above. Closing the faucets shuts off the tank- 
pressure from the boiler immediately. Place the cut-off 
between the two pressures, or nearer the boiler when 
desired. If the street-pressure still supplies the second 
floor, place the cut-off on the third floor ; if it only sup- 
plies the basement, put it on the parlor floor. Connec- 
tions for cold-water branches to supply lower floors from 
street-pressure must be made below the check-valve, as 
shown, and under no circumstances between boiler and 
cut-off. Supply-pipe to tank must be independent of 
pipes shown in diagram, and the connection with pump 
must be made below the check-valve. 















<T 


JB,., 


ft 




/ 






8 


%1 






9 


..%JLj 






/o 




YardL3>TaiW 


COlar 


T ' 

\ TT- 


^^ 


•--p> >rHr- — 


Ss 


°\y u— 







PART XVI. 

A COMPLETE DRAINAGE JOB. 

We have already called attention to various appli- 
ances, etc., and will now proceed to show a complete 
plumbing job so far as the connections to the sewer are 
concerned. 

The plan (Fig. 137) shows a section of everything con- 
nected with the sewer, in an apartment-house for ten 
families. Each family occupies the half of a Complete 
floor, except the family in the first floor front, who also 
have half the cellar. Their apartments are marked 1, 
the rest being marked 2, 3, etc. 

It will thus be seen that as there are wash-tubs and 
sink on the cellar floor, it becomes necessary to run the 
main drain below the cellar floor. 

On the drawing the soil-pipes are so marked and 
shown in section ; the vent-pipes are marked, but are 
merely indicated by a line. The correct size of each is 
given on the plan. 

The fixtures marked A, A, etc., it will be noticed are 

connected to the 2-inch wastes. Wherever there is a 

water-closet it is connected to a 5-inch soil-pipe. This 

(169) 



-% 



-a J 



M 




^QSr 



x * 
I ? 



-^Sp 




S^ 



E3XP 



S^pLffi_ 



Sffi_ 






*.f 



0^ flS**^ 

[Face p. .69. 



170 A COMPLETE DRAINAGE JOB 

is in accordance with the ordinances of the city of New- 
York. 

B B, etc., are the bath-tubs ; C C, etc., are the water- 
closets ; D D, etc., are the wash-tubs ; E E, etc., are the 
sinks. 

Vent-pipes are shown connected to the upper arm of 
every trap. 

The points marked F F, etc., are the places where 
the soil and waste pipes are tapped for the vent-pipe. 
These taps are always below all the fixtures. 

At the spot marked " 5-inch leader branch " there is 
to be jointed a rain-water leader from the roof. Other 
leaders from the roof may enter the main drain at any 
place in rear of the one which is designated, provided 
they are trapped. 

There is no excuse for any difficulty about such a job 
as the plan shows. 

As it is generally not feasible to put in the main drain 
until after the soil-pipes and vent-pipes are in position, 
it follows that attention must be paid to the measure- 
ments, in order that the work of putting in the branches 
from the ends of the upright stacks may proceed without 
any hitch. 

After your soil-pipes, waste-pipes, and main drain to 
the main trap are in position, the whole are filled with 
water, as already described on page 105, and tested for 
leaks. 



A COMPLETE DRAINAGE JOB 171 

WATER-SERVICE PIPES. 

The advantages of lead pipe for water are becoming 
entirely overshadowed by galvanized-iron pipe, for con- 
veying both hot and cold water to the various fixtures 
of a residence. 

The better class of houses in New York are fitted 
now with galvanized-iron pipe, screwed together in pre- 
cisely the same manner as gas pipe. The reason the 
pipe is galvanized is to prevent rust. In this, however, 
it does not entirely succeed, as an examination of water 
which has stood in such pipes, for even a short space of 
time, will show. 

The galvanized piping is certainly more sightly, and 
requires a much smaller number of tacks. For over- 
head work it is especially desirable, as it requires so lit- 
tle fastening. To ensure a good job with iron pipe, 
requires that the work be intelligently laid out and the 
measurements made correctly ; no guesswork will do, 
as this kind of pipe is not to be twisted and bent around 
corners, as can be done with lead pipe. 

As it was necessary to find out the sewer level for 
your drain, so it now becomes necessary to find out the 
height to which the supply of water will ahvays rise. 
This knowledge is obtained from an official known as 
the " tapper," whose duty it is to tap the main, and who 
possesses the desired information. 

Now, suppose you have a house of 5 stories, 60 feet 



172 * A COMPLETE DRAINAGE JOB 

in height, and the tapper tells you the water will rise 
but 20 feet. You see at once that two stories only will 
get water from the street. It therefore becomes nec- 
essary to place a tank on the roof (it is often put on the 
top floor in private houses) and provide a pump, located 
in the basement preferably, for the purpose of filling 
the tank. 

To prevent the water in the tank from running back 
into the main, which it would do if some means were 
not employed to prevent it, a stop-cock is used. The 
stop-cock is placed at a point in the riser or main-service 
pipe between the pressures. That is to say, it must be 
just at the point to which the water from the street- 
main can be always depended upon to rise. 

By referring to Fig. 137 it will be seen that the base- 
ment and parlor floor are supplied from the street, the 
floors above being supplied from the tank. 

The drawing shows the piping complete for a house ; 
a very little study will show that the same general ar- 
rangement must be followed in every case. It shows 
also that there does not exist the slightest excuse for 
the complication so often found in plumbing. 

Start your job with a thoroughly understood plan in 
your hand, and you will be surprised to find how little 
real difficulty exists. 

It sometimes, though rarely, happens that where a 
double boiler, or a Boyle cut-off is used, hot water will 
be found issuing from both hot and cold water faucets. 



A COMPLETE DRAINAGE JOB 173 

With a double boiler, it may be a defect in the inside 
boiler in addition to the cause itself, which is, that the 
street-pressure has overcome the tank-pressure. Either 
arrangement requires the tank-pressure to be constant. 
In the case where a Boyle cut-off is used, it can be cor- 
rected by inserting an inverted check-valve. 



PART XVII. 

PLUMBING REGULATIONS. 

CIVIC communities have for many years recognized 
the necessity of plumbing regulations which demand a 
legal inspection of all plumbing work. The rules which 
are given in the following pages are the result of many 
years' practical experience, and are framed for the pur- 
pose of protecting the inhabitants of the city from de- 
fective plumbing, which it has been found is always 
conducive to sickness. The sanitary laws of the city of 
New York are framed with such care as to make them a 
criterion for any community. They are therefore in- 
serted in full. 

It is a matter of congratulation that such laws and 
regulations as those which follow, are in existence, 
though it seems strange that they are of comparatively 
recent date. As nothing in the details of plumbing is 
of very serious complication or difficulty, as the whole 
modern system is merely the outcome of a knowledge 
of the deadly effect of sewer gas, a knowledge certainly 
not new, it would appear but reasonable to think plumb- 
ing should have reached its present state of perfection at 
least a century ago. 

(174) \ 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 175 

HEALTH DEPARTMENT, 
City of New York. 



The Registration of Plumbers, and the Law and Reg- 
ulations Governing the Plumbing and Drainage of 
all Buildings hereafter erected. 



Chapter 450, Laws of 1881. 

AN ACT to secure the Registration of Plumbers and 
the Supervision of Plumbing and Drainage, in the 
Cities of New York and Brooklyn. 
Passed June 4, 1881. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follozus : 

SECTION I. On or before the first day of March, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-two, every master or jour- 
neyman plumber carrying on his trade in the cities of 
New York and Brooklyn, shall, under such rules and 
regulations as the respective Boards of Health of the 
Health Departments of said cities shall respectively pre- 
scribe, register his name and address at the Health De- 
partment of the said city ; and after the said date it 
shall not be lawful for any person to carry on the trade 
of plumbing in the said cities unless his name and ad- 
dress be registered as above provided. 

Sec 2, A list of the registered plumbers of the City 



176 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

of New York shall be published in the City Record at 
least once in each year. 

SEC. 3. The drainage and plumbing of all buildings, 
both public and private, hereafter erected in the City 
of New York, or in the City of Brooklyn, shall be exe- 
cuted in accordance with plans previously approved in 
writing by the Board of Health of the said Health De- 
partments of said cities respectively. Suitable drawings 
and descriptions of the said plumbing and drainage shall 
in each case be submitted and placed on file in the 
Health Department. The said Boards of Health are 
also authorized to receive and place on file drawings 
and descriptions of the plumbing and drainage of build- 
ings erected prior to the passage of this act in their 
respective cities. 

Sec. 4. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
of the City of New York shall add six thousand dollars 
to the apportionment of the Health Department for the 
year eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and shall insert 
the same in the tax levy, to provide for carrying out 
the provisions of this act, so far as it relates to the City 
of New York. 

SEC. 5. Any court of record in said cities respectively, 
or any judge or justice thereof, shall have power at any 
time after the service of notice of the violation of any 
of the provisions of this act, and upon the affidavit of 
one of the Commissioners of Health of the said cities, 
to restrain by injunction order the further progress of 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 177 

any violation named in this act, or of any work upon or 
about the building or premises upon which the said vio- 
lation exists ; and no undertaking shall be required as a 
condition to the granting or issuing of such injunction, 
or by reason thereof. 

. SEC. 6. Any person violating any of the provisions of 
this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. 
SEC. 7. This act shall take effect immediately. 

RULES AND REGULATIONS 

For the Registration of Plumbers, and Relating to 
Plans and Specifications for Plumbing and Drain- 
age, ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF HEALTH OF THE ClTY 

of New York, in accordance with Chapter 450, Laws 

OF 1881. 

Adopted April 3, 1883. 
Amended October 27, 1885. 
Amended August 18, 1887. 
Amended November 6, 1890. 

I. — The Registration of Plumbers. 

RULE i. Every plumber engaged in business in the 
City of New York shall appear in person at the Health 
Department, No. 301 Mott Street, and register his name 
and address, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 450, 
Laws of 1 88 1, upon the forms prescribed by the Health 
Department. 

Rule 2. It shall be the duty of every plumber to give 
immediate notice of any change in residence or place of 
business, for the correction of the Register. 



178 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

RULE 3. The list of registered plumbers shall be pub- 
lished in January of each year. 

II.— Of Plumbing. 

The law requires that the plumbing and drainage of 
all buildings, public and private, shall be executed in 
accordance with plans and specifications previously ap- 
proved in writing by the Board of Health ; and that 
suitable drawings and descriptions of the said plumbing 
and drainage shall, in each case, be submitted and placed 
on file in the Health Department. 

No modification of approved plans, or of the work 
described therein, will be permitted unless the same has 
been previously allowed by the Board of Health on the 
written application of owner or architect. 

Plans are approved upon the condition that such ap- 
proval expires by its own limitation six months from 
date of permit unless work under it is then in progress. 
If it is not begun under approved plans within that 
time, such plans must again be presented to the Board 
for reconsideration. 

Drawings and descriptions of the plumbing and drain- 
age of buildings, erected prior to the passage of the Act 
of 1881, may be placed on file in the Health Depart- 
ment. 

Blank specifications for plumbing and drainage will 
be furnished to architects and others, on application at 
this office. 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 179 

As the law requires that the plumbing and drainage 
be executed according to a plan approved by the Board 
of Health, no part of the work shall be covered or con- 
cealed in any way until after it has been examined by 
an Inspector of the Board of Health ; and notice must 
be sent to the Board when the work is sufficiently ad- 
vanced for such inspection. 

III. — General Plan of Drainage and Plumbing approved 
by the Board of Health. 

The following plan of construction has been approved 
by the Board of Health. When the work is completed, 
and before it is covered from view, the Board must be 
notified, that it may send an Inspector. 

1. In no case will the general water-closet accommo- 
dation of a tenement or lodging-house be allowed in the 
cellar or basement. 

2. All interior water-closet compartments in tenement- 
houses shall be ventilated into air shafts of not less than 
three square feet in area. In other buildings, water-closets 
should not be placed in an unventilated compartment. 
In each case water-closet compartments should open to 
the outer air, or be ventilated by means of a shaft or 
air duct. 

3. All materials must be of good quality and free 
from defects ; the work must be executed in a thorough 
and workmanlike manner. 

4. Subsoil drains must be provided when necessary. 



180 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

When used they must be effectively trapped and means 
provided to maintain a seal. 

5. All iron pipes must be sound, free from holes or 
cracks, and of the grade known in commerce as extra 
heavy. The following weights per lineal foot will be 
accepted as standards : 

2 inches 5^ lbs. per lineal foot. 

3 " 9V 2 " 

4 " 13 

5 " i7 

6 " 20 " " 

7 " • 27 

8 it oil/ << « 
33/2 

10 " 45 

12 " 54 

6. All fittings used in connection with iron pipe shall 
correspond with it in weight and quality. No tar-coated 
cast-iron pipe shall be used. 

7. The arrangement of all drainage and vent pipes 
must be as direct as possible. 

8. Where there is a sewer in the street, every house 
or building must be separately and independently con- 
nected with it. When possible such connection must 
be made directly in front of the house. 

9. Where the ground is made or filled in, the house 
sewer, by which is meant the portion of the drain extend- 
ing from the public sewer to the front wall, must be of 
extra heavy iron pipe of such diameter as the Board of 
Health may approve. Such pipes must be laid with the 
joints properly calked with lead. 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 181 

10. Where the soil consists of a natural bed of loam, 
sand, or rock, the house sewer may be of hard, salt-glazed 
and cylindrical earthenware pipe, laid on a smooth bot- 
tom, free from all projections of rock and with the soil 
well rammed to prevent any settling of the pipe. Each 
section must be wetted before applying the cement, and 
the space between each hub and the small end of the 
next section must be completely and uniformly filled 
with the best hydraulic cement. Care must be taken 
to prevent any cement being forced into the drain to 
become an obstruction. No tempered-up cement shall 
be used. A straight edge must be used, and the differ- 
ent sections must be laid in perfect line on the bottom 
and sides. 

11. The house sewer must, where possible, be given 
an even descent to the street sewer, of not less than 
one-quarter of an inch to the foot. 

12. Where there is no sewer in the street, and it is 
necessary to construct a private sewer to connect with 
a sewer in an adjacent street or avenue, it must be laid 
outside of the curb, under the roadway of the street 
on which the houses front, and not through the yards 
or under the houses. 

13. The house-drain must be of extra heavy iron pipe, 
with a fall of at least one-quarter inch to the foot. 

14. Where water-closets discharge into it, the house- 
drain must be at least four inches in diameter. 

15. It must be securely held in place against the eel- 



182 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

lar wall or properly suspended from the cellar ceiling. 
It can be laid under the cellar floor only when a permit 
from the Board of Health has been obtained. 

16. It must be laid in a straight line, if possible. All 
changes in direction must be made with curved pipes, 
and all connections with Y-branch pipes, and one-six- 
teenth or one-eighth bends. 

17. Any house-drain or house-sewer put in and cov- 
ered without due notice to the Health Department, 
must be uncovered for inspection at the direction of the 
Inspector. Old sewers or house-drains can be used for 
new houses only when found by an Inspector of this 
Department to conform in all respects to the regulations 
governing new sewers and drains. 

18. A running or half-S trap must be placed on the 
house-drain at an accessible point near the front of the 
house. This trap must be furnished with a hand-hole 
for convenience in cleaning. 

19. Hand-holes for cleaning on the house-drain or its 
branches, or their traps or on the house-drain trap, must 
be provided with proper ferrules with screw covers made 
gas tight. 

20. There must be an inlet pipe for fresh air to enter 
the drain just inside the trap, of at least four inches in 
diameter (or of the same diameter as the house-drain if 
that is less than four inches), leading to the outer air and 
opening at some place and in the manner shown on the 
approved plans, not less than fifteen feet from the near- 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 183 

est window. No cold-air box for a furnace shall be so 
placed that it can possibly draw air from this inlet pipe. 

21. No brick, sheet-metal, earthenware, or chimney 
flue shall be used as a sewer ventilator, nor to ventilate 
any trap, drain, soil, or waste pipe. 

22. Every vertical soil, waste, and vent pipe must be 
of extra heavy iron pipe. Where soil or waste pipes re- 
ceive the discharge of fixtures on two or more floors, 
they must extend at least two feet above the highest part 
of the roof coping or light shaft louvres. All soil, waste, 
and vent pipes extended above the roof, must be of full 
calibre unless the diameter is less than four inches, in 
which case they must be enlarged to four inches, from a 
point just below the roof. 

No caps or cowls shall be affixed to the top of such 
pipes, but in tenement-houses a strong wire basket shall 
be provided and securely fastened thereto in every case 
to cover them. 

23. Soil, waste, and vent pipes in an extension must 
be extended above the roof of the main building, when 
otherwise they would open within thirty feet of the win- 
dows of the main house or the adjoining house. 

24. Branch soil and waste pipes must have a fall of 
not less than one-quarter of an inch per foot to the pipes 
into which they discharge. 

Horizontal soil and waste pipes are prohibited. 

25. Offsets in soil, waste, or vent pipes will not be per- 
mitted where they can be avoided, nor in any case unless 



134 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

suitable provision is made to prevent accumulation there- 
in of rust or other obstructions. 

26. The least diameter of soil-pipe permitted is four 
inches. A vertical waste-pipe into which a line of 
kitchen sinks discharges must be at least three inches in 
diameter if receiving the waste of sinks on five or more 
floors. All branch waste-pipes from sinks shall be at 
least two inches in diameter. 

27. There shall be no traps on main vertical soil or 
waste pipes. 

28. The drain, soil, waste, and vent pipes, and the 
traps must, if practicable, be exposed to view for ready 
inspection at all times, and for convenience in repairing. 
When necessarily placed within partitions or in recesses 
of walls, soil, waste, and vent pipes should, if practicable, 
be covered with woodwork so fastened with screws as 
to be readily removed. 

29. All joints in cast-iron drain-pipes, soil, waste, and 
vent pipes must be filled with oakum and lead and so 
calked as to make them gas tight. The amount of 
lead used to a calked joint shall not be less than twelve 
ounces to each inch diameter of the pipe so connected. 

30. The plumber will test all soil, waste, drain, and 
vent pipes, in the presence of a plumbing Inspector, and 
after due notice to the Board of Health, by a pressure 
test ; the pressure to be applied as directed by the 
Inspector, and after all openings in the pipes have been 
securely closed by the master plumber or other person 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 185 

in charge of the work. None of said pipes shall be 
covered until after they have stood the test to the satis- 
faction of the Inspector. 

31. All branch lead soil, waste, and vent pipes, includ- 
ing bends, must be of the best quality and of not less 
than the following weights per lineal foot i 

Diameters : Weight per foot : 

\Y 2 inches. 3 pounds 8 ounces. 

2 " 4 pounds. 

3 « 6 « 

4 " 8 « 

32. Where lead pipe is used to connect fixtures with 
soil or waste pipes, or to connect traps with vent pipes, 
such branches must be as short as possible. 

33. All connections of lead with iron pipes must be 
made with a brass sleeve or ferrule of the same size as 
the lead pipe, put in the hub of the branch of the iron 
pipe and calked with lead. The lead pipe must be at- 
tached to the ferrule by a wiped or overcast joint. 

34. All connections of lead waste and vent pipes shalr 
be made by means of wiped joints. 

35. Every water-closet, urinal, sink, basin, wash tray, 
bath, and every tub or set of tubs and hydrant waste 
pipe, or other fixture, must be separately and effectively 
trapped ; except where a sink and wash tubs immedi- 
ately adjoin each other, in which case the waste pipe 
from the tubs may be connected with the inlet side of 
the sink trap. In such a case the tub waste pipe is not 



186 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

required to be separately trapped. Urinal platforms, if 
connected to drain pipes, must also be properly trapped. 

36. Special precaution must be taken to secure per- 
fect joints between water-closet traps placed above the 
floor and the branch soil and vent pipes for same. Cast- 
iron traps must have lead calked joints. 

Proper floor plates must be used with earthenware 
water-closet traps and the joints made permanently 
secure and gas tight. 

37. Traps must be placed as near the fixtures as 
practicable, and in no case shall a trap be more than two 
feet from the fixture, unless permitted on the approved 
plan. 

38. All waste pipes from fixtures other than water- 
closets must be provided at the outlet of such fixtures 
with strong metallic strainers to exclude from such waste 
pipes all substances likely to obstruct them. 

39. In no case shall the waste from a bath tub or 
other fixture be connected with a water-closet trap. 

40. Traps must be protected from siphonage, and the 
waste pipe leading from them ventilated by a special air- 
pipe, in no case less than two inches in diameter. Ex- 
cept in private dwellings, the vertical vent pipes for 
traps of water-closets in buildings more than four stories 
in height must be at least three inches in diameter. All 
branch vent pipes for water-closet traps must be not less 
than two inches in diameter, and for traps of other fix- 
tures not less than one and one-half inches in diameter. 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 187 

41. Vent pipes, unless permitted by the approved 
plans to be tapped into an adjacent soil or waste pipe 
above the highest fixture, must extend two feet above 
the highest part of the roof or coping, or light shaft 
louvres. They may be combined by branching together 
tlxose which serve several traps. These vent pipes must 
always have a continuous slope, and be connected at the 
bottom with the nearest drain pipe, to avoid obstruction 
from rust or water. 

42. No trap vent pipe shall be used as a waste or soil 
pipe. 

43. Overflow pipes from fixtures must, in each case, 
be connected on the inlet side of the trap. 

44. Every safe under a wash basin, bath, urinal, water- 
closet, or other fixture must be properly graded to, and 
drained, by a special pipe not directly connected with 
any soil pipe, waste pipe, drain or sewer, but discharging 
into an open sink, upon the cellar floor or outside the 
house. The outlets of such pipes should be covered by 
flap valves. 

45. Water-closets inclosed by woodwork must be pro- 
vided with proper drip trays or safes. 

46. The drain pipe from refrigerators shall not be 
directly connected with the soil or waste pipe, or with 
the drain or sewer, or discharge upon the ground ; it 
should discharge into an open and water supplied sink. 
These waste pipes and their branches should be so 
arranged as to admit of frequent flushing, and should be 



188 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

as short as possible, and disconnected from the refriger- 
ator. In tenement-houses it must be extended above 
the roof. Covering the discharge outlet by means of a 
flap valve is recommended. 

47. The sediment pipe from kitchen boilers must not 
be connected on the outlet side of the sink trap. 

48. The valves of cisterns must be so fitted and ad- 
justed as to prevent wasting of water, especially where 
cisterns are supplied from a tank on the roof. 

49. All water-closets within the house must be sup- 
plied with water from special tanks or cisterns, the water 
of which is not used for any other purpose. Interior 
water-closets must never be supplied directly from the 
Croton supply pipes. Except in tenement-houses, a 
group of closets may be supplied from one tank, but 
water-closets on different floors are not permitted to be 
flushed from one tank. In tenement-houses there must 
be a separate cistern for each water-closet. In no case 
shall there be less than one water-closet for every fifteen 
occupants of a building, and not less than one for every 
floor or story. 

50. The overflow pipes from water-closet cisterns may 
discharge into the water-closet bowl, an open sink, or 
where its discharge will attract attention and indicate 
that waste of water is occurring, but not into the soil or 
waste pipe, nor into the drain or sewer. 

51. Where the pressure of Groton water is insufficient 
to supply water-closets or other fixtures in tenement and 



PLUMBTNG REGULATIONS 189 

lodging houses, factories or workshops, water must be 
supplied for such fixtures from a house tank of such size 
as to afford an adequate supply at all times. In all other 
cases where tanks are not used, and the supply of water 
from the Croton pressure is insufficient to properly sup- 
ply water for all fixtures, adequate pumps must be pro- 
vided for that purpose. 

52. Tanks for drinking water are objectionable, but if 
indispensable, they must never be lined with lead, gal- 
vanized iron, or zinc. They should be constructed of 
iron, or of wood lined with tinned and planished copper, 
or of wood alone. Overflow pipes from house tanks 
should discharge upon the roof, or be trapped and dis- 
charged into an open sink, but never into any soil or 
waste pipe or water-closet trap, nor into the drain or 
sewer. Discharge pipes from such tanks must not deliver 
into any sewer-connected soil or waste pipe. 

53. When within the house the leader must be of cast- 
iron, with leaded joints, or of copper with soldered joints. 
When outside of the house and connected with the house 
drain it must, if of sheet metal with slip joints, be trap- 
ped beneath the ground or just inside of the wall, the 
trap being arranged so as to prevent freezing. In every 
case where a leader opens near a window or a light shaft, 
it must be properly trapped at its base. The joint be- 
tween a cast-iron leader and the roof must be made gas 
and water tight by means of a brass ferrule and lead or 
copper pipe properly connected. 



190 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

54. Rain-water leade s must never be used as soil, 
waste, or vent pipes , nor shall any soil, waste, or vent 
pipe be used as a leader. 

55. No steam exhaust, blow-off, or drip pipe shall con- 
nect with a sewer or with any house drain, leader, soil 
pipe, waste or vent pipe. Such pipes must discharge into 
a tank or condenser, from which a suitable outlet to the 
house sewer may be provided. 

56. Cellars should not be connected to the house 
drain unless necessary. Dry cesspools should be used 
where practicable. Mason's traps for yard, cellar, and 
area drains are prohibited. 

57. Yards and areas, and open light courts must always 
be properly graded, cemented, flagged, or well paved and 
properly drained ; when the drain is connected with the 
house drain it must be effectively trapped. Front area 
drains must, where practicable, be connected with the 
house drain inside of the running trap. 

58. Cellar and foundation walls must, where necessary, 
be rendered impervious to dampness, and the use of 
asphaltum or coal-tar pitch, in addition to hydraulic 
cement, is recommended for that purpose. 

59. No privy-vault or cesspool for sewage will be per- 
mitted in any part of the city where water-closets can be 
connected with a public sewer in the street. 

60. When there is no sewer in the street, and no way 
of reaching a sewer in an adjacent street or avenue, by 
any means provided for in these regulations, privy-vaults 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 191 

and cesspools will be permitted ; but only after it has 
been shown to the satisfaction of the Board of Health 
that there is no danger of contamination of the water 
supply from any well in the vicinity. When so permit- 
ted, they shall be built and maintained absolutely water- 
tight. They shall be placed, as far as practicable, from 
any house, and so ventilated that no nuisance shall re- 
sult therefrom. 

61. Before turning on the water supply, after the com- 
pleted work executed under approved plans therefor has 
been accepted by the Board of Health, a certificate 
must be obtained from the Board of Health that there 
is no violation of law unremoved on record against the 
work. A water permit from the Department of Public 
Works must also be obtained. 

By order of the Board. 

Charles G. Wilson, President. 

Emmons Clark, Secretary. 



[Laws of 1887, Chap. 84, Sec. 6, Amending Sec. 653, N. Y. Con- 
solidation Act, as Amended by Laws of 1888, Chap. 422.] 

SECTION 653. Every tenement and lodging house or 
building shall be provided with as many good and suffi- 
cient water-closets, improved privy sinks, or other simi- 
lar receptacles as the Board of Health shall require, but 
in no case shall there be less than one for every fifteen 
occupants, and not less than one for every floor or story 



192 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

of such tenement or lodging house. The water-closets, 
sinks, and receptacles shall have proper doors, soil pipes, 
and traps, all of which shall be properly ventilated to 
prevent the escape of deleterious gas and odors, soil- 
pans, cisterns, pumps, and other suitable works and fix- 
tures, necessary to insure the efficient operation, cleans- 
ing and flushing thereof. Every tenement and lodging 
house situated upon a lot on a street or avenue in which 
there is a sewer, shall have a separate and proper con- 
nection with the sewer ; and the water-closets, sink, and 
other receptacles, shall be properly connected with the 
sewer by proper pipes made thoroughly air-tight. Such 
sewer connections and all the drainage and plumbing 
work, water-closets, sinks, and other receptacles, in and 
for every tenement and lodging house, shall be of the 
form, construction, arrangement, location, materials, 
workmanship, and description to be approved, or such as 
may be required by the Board of Health of the Health 
Department of the City of New York. Every owner, 
lessee, and occupant shall take adequate measures to 
prevent improper substances from entering such water- 
closets, or sinks, or their connections, and to secure the 
prompt removal of any improper substances that may 
enter them, so that no accumulation shall take place, 
and so as to prevent any exhalations therefrom, offen- 
sive, dangerous, and prejudicial to life or health, and so 
as to prevent the same from being or becoming ob- 
structed. Every person who shall place filth, urine, or 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 193 

foecal matter in any place in a tenement-house other 
than that provided for the same, and every person who 
shall keep filth, urine, or fcecal matter in his apartment, 
or upon his premises, such length of time as to create a 
nuisance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. No privy- 
vault or cesspool shall be allowed in or under or con- 
nected with any such house except when it is unavoida- 
ble, and a permit therefor shall have been granted by 
the Board of Health, and in such case it shall be con- 
structed in such situation and in such manner as the 
Board of Health may direct. It shall in all cases be 
water tight and arched or securely covered over, and no 
offensive smell or gases shall be allowed to escape there- 
from, or from any closet, sink, or privy. In all cases 
where a sewer exists in the street or avenue upon which 
the house or building stands, the yard or area shall be 
connected with the sewer, that all water from the roof 
or otherwise, and all liquid filth shall pass freely into the 
sewer. Where there is no sewer in the street or avenue, 
or adjacent thereto, to which connection can be made, 
the yard and area shall be so graded that all water from 
the roof or otherwise, and all filth shall flow freely there- 
from into the street gutter, by a passage beneath the 
sidewalk, which passage shall be covered by a permanent 
cover, but so arranged as to permit access to remove 
obstructions or impurities. It shall be the duty of the 
Board of Health to enforce the provisions of this section 
in regard to privy-vaults as soon as practicable, but said 



191 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

Board shall permit no privy-vault to remain connected 
with a tenement-house later than January I, 1887, ex_ 
cept in the cases especially named in this section. 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PLUMBING AND DRAIN- 
AGE OF THE BUILDINGS HEREIN DESCRIBED. 

Location Number of buildings Descrip- 

tion of buildings Dimensions of each building 

Dimensions of lots Owner address 

Architect address Plumber address 

How many buildings will the new ones replace ? 
What kind of buildings were they ? How many 

families did each of the old buildings accommodate? 
Were buildings on front or rear of lot ? 

Pursuant to the requirements of law, the accompany- 
ing plan for the plumbing and drainage of each of the 
above-mentioned buildings, and the following descrip- 
tion thereof, is hereby submitted for the approval of 
the Superintendent of Buildings, the undersigned here- 
by agreeing to cause the work to be done and the mate- 
rial to be furnished in accordance therewith, with such 
modifications as may be required by the Superintendent 
of Buildings. No modification of the plans, or of the 
work described herein, will be made, unless the same is 
previously allowed by the Superintendent of Buildings, 
on the written application of owner or architect ; and 
all work pertaining to the proper plumbing and drainage 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 195 

of the buildings and premises which is not covered by 
the plans, but is found necessary during the progress of 
the work in order to carry into effect the true intent 
thereof, will be executed in accordance with the direc- 
tions of the Superintendent of Buildings. 

General Directions. 

It is expressly understood that these specifications 
and the drawings submitted herewith to the Depart- 
ment of Buildings for approval constitute together, as 
approved by said Superintendent of Buildings, the plans 
for the plumbing and drainage of the buildings herein 
described ; and in respect to all work not covered there- 
by, the plumber is to be governed by the Rules and 
Regulations as to plumbing and drainage established by 
the Superintendent of Buildings. 

The plumber will furnish all materials and perform 
all labor requisite and necessary for putting up and 
completing all the plumbing work in a good and thor- 
oughly workmanlike manner, according to the plans 
therefor as approved by the Superintendent of Build- 
ings. 

All materials will be of good quality and free from 
defects. 

The diameters of pipes herein specified are inside di- 
ameters. 

The will properly close all openings in floors 

and ceilings about lines of drain and vent pipe, so as to 



196 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

prevent the passage of foul odors from one floor to 
another along said lines of pipe. 

The plumber will send notice to the Superintendent 
of Buildings when the work will begin, and also at vari- 
ous times during the progress of said work before any 
part of it is permanently covered. 

The plumber will properly protect all pipes and fix- 
tures as soon as set and close all pipe openings so as to 
prevent obstruction and damage. 

The will do all the excavating and refilling 

required for the proper carrying out of these specifica- 
tions, except as such work is herein otherwise specifical- 
ly provided for. 

The plumber will obtain and pay for all necessary per- 
mits, and comply with all Corporation laws relating to 
the subject matter of these specifications. 

After the completion of the work under the plans 
and specifications, and before its final acceptance, the 
plumber must obtain the certificate of the Superintend- 
ent of Buildings that there is no violation of law on 
record against said work, and also a water permit from 
the Department of Public Works. He will then turn on 
the water and leave everything in perfect working order. 

I. — Materials, Etc. 
Earthenware Pipe. 
All earthenware pipe, herein specified, must be hard, 
smooth, salt glazed, and cylindrical, and not less than 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 



197 



^ of an inch in thickness. Each length will be perfect- 
ly straight and free from any fire cracks, flaws, blisters, 
or other defects. 

All special fittings to be of the same quality as the 
pipe. 

Cast-iron Pipe, 

All cast-iron pipe and fittings must be sound, cylindri- 
cal, and smooth, free from cracks, sand holes, and other 
defects, of a uniform thickness, and of the grade known 
in commerce as extra heavy. All iron pipe will be firmly 
secured in position by proper pipe supports placed not 
more than 5 feet apart. No tar-coated pipe will be 
used, but after the pipes have been tested and accepted 
by the Inspector they will be coated with 

The following average weights per lineal foot will be 
accepted : 

2 inches .... 5 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 



5 % lbs. per 


lineal foot. 


9K " 


" 


13 


" 


17 


" 


20 " 


" 


27 


" 


33K " 


" 


45 


" 


54 


" 



All joints in cast-iron pipe will be made with picked 
oakum and molten lead, and the plumber will make the 
joints impermeable to gases, by bedding the lead with 
hammer and calking-iron. For each joint in cast-iron 



198 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

pipe 12 ounces of lead must be used to each inch of 
diameter of the pipe in which the joint is made. No 
putty or cement joints will be permitted. The lead 
used for calking will be pure, soft pig lead ; no old joints 
or other defective material will be used. 

Wrought-iron Pipe. 



Lead Pipe. 
All branch lead soil, waste, and vent pipes, including 
bends, must be of the best quality and of not less than 
the following weights per lineal foot : 

Diameter 1% inches Weight per foot 3 lbs. 8 ozs. 

2 " " " 4 " 

" 3 " " " 6 « 

" 4 " " " 8 « 

All connections of lead with iron pipes will be made 
by heavy brass ferrules of the same size as the lead pipe, 
set in the hub of the branch of the iron pipe and calked 
in with lead ; the lead pipe to be attached to the ferrule 
by a proper solder wiped joint when practicable. No 
putty or cement joints will be permitted. 

All connections of branch lead soil, waste, and vent 
pipes will be made by wiped joints. 

All lead pipes will be firmly secured in place with 
hard metal tacks and screws, placed not more than 3 
feet apart ; and all horizontal lead pipes will be well 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 199 

supported for their whole length by shelves or carrying 
strips, to be provided and put up by 

II.— Tests. 

The plumber will test all of the soil, waste, drain, and 
vent pipes herein described, including branches, in the 
presence of an Inspector of the Department of Build- 
ings, and after due notice to the Superintendent of 
Buildings, by a pressure test ; the pressure to be ap- 
plied as directed by the Inspector, and after all open- 
ings in the pipes have been securely closed by the mas- 
ter plumber or other person in charge of the work. 
None of said pipes shall be covered until after they have 
stood the test to the satisfaction of the Inspector. 

III.— Cesspools and Sewers. 

No cesspools will be allowed where there is a well on 
the same or adjacent premises, without a special permit 
from the Superintendent of Buildings. 

The will construct in at feet from 

the building, a cesspool x and deep, with 

inch walls, and bottom made absolutely wa- 

ter-tight by means of The cesspool will be 

covered with and ventilated by 

As soon as it is possible to connect above-mentioned 
house with a public sewer, the owner will have the cess- 
pool emptied, cleaned, disinfected, and filled with fresh 
earth, and have such connection made in the manner 



200 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

prescribed by the regulations of the Superintendent of 
Buildings. 

Private Sewers. 

Where there is no public sewer in the street, and it is 
necessary to construct a private sewer to connect with a 
public sewer in an adjacent street or avenue, it must be 
laid outside the curb under the roadway of the street 
on which the houses front, and not through the yards 
or under the houses. Such sewer will be constructed 
in the following manner : 

House Sewers — Excavation. 

The will make the necessary excavation for 

the house sewer from the wall to the 

sewer in , making a smooth bottom for each 

pipej free from all projections of rock, and with the soil 
well rammed to prevent settling of the pipe. 

House Sewer — Earthenware. 

[Note. — The laying of earthenware drain-pipe for house sew- 
ers, in made or filled-in ground, is prohibited by the Rules estab- 
lished by the Superintendent of Buildings. But where the soil 
consists of a natural bed of loam, sand, or rock, it is permitted 
to be laid from outside the cellar, vault, or area wall to the street 
sewer, if laid in strict compliance with the following directions.] 

The will make a separate connection for each 

building with the sewer by an earthenware pipe 

inches in diameter, hard and salt glazed, and not 

less than y^ of an inch thick, run at a uniform grade of 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 201 

not less than ^ inch per foot, extending the same to a 
point not less than 2 feet outside of the outer face of 
the front cellar, vault, or area wall, as the case may be. 
Every section will be bedded in cement at the hub. 
The ends of the pipe will be wetted before applying the 
cement, and the space between each hub and the small 
end of the next section will be completely and uniform- 
ly filled with the best quality of hydraulic cement, care 
being taken to prevent any cement being forced into 
the drain to become an obstruction. No tempered-up 
cement will be used. A straight edge will be used, and 
the different pipe sections laid in perfect line on the 
bottom and sides. 

House Sewer — of Iron. 

Or the plumber will make a separate connection for 
each building with sewer in by 

inch extra heavy cast-iron pipe, run at a uniform grade 
of not less than y^ inch per foot, to a point just inside 
of the cellar or vault wall, as the case may be. 

The house sewer in each case will be connected to 
the street sewer at a point directly in front of the house 
for which it is laid. 

Old sewers or house drains can be used for new build- 
ings only when found by an Inspector of the Depart- 
ment of Buildings to conform in all respects to the 
regulations governing new sewers and drains. They will 
in each case be uncovered for examination by the 



202 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

Notice will be sent to the Superintendent of Build- 
ings when any sewer or drain pipe herein specified is 
ready for inspection ; and it can be covered only after 
it has been examined and pronounced satisfactory by 
an Inspector of the Department of Buildings. In filling 
the trench no stones will be placed in contact with the 
pipe, and the earth will be thoroughly packed in with- 
out moving the pipe in the slightest degree, or starting 
any of the joints. 

IV.— House Drain. 

The plumber will make a proper connection with the 
house sewer by extra heavy cast-iron pipe and set a 
inch extra heavy cast-iron running, or half-S traps just 
inside of the front wall, with a hand-hole for cleaning, 
covered with a screw cap, properly fitted. 

A fresh-air inlet of extra heavy cast-iron pipe, not less 
than 4 inches in diameter, will be provided and properly 
connected with the house drain on the inlet side of the 
house-trap, and extended up flush with the sidewalk 
near the street curb, and properly covered by a galvan- 
ized-iron grating leaded into the flagstone ; or extend- 
ing to not less than 15 feet from any door or 
window, and opening at least 12 inches above finished 
grade, with cap, bend, or grating. 

The will build a box or man-hole 

with cover about the drain-trap, so as to make 

it readily accessible. 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 203 

The plumber will continue the house drain of extra 
heavy cast-iron pipe inches in diameter, along the 
cellar wall or ceiling from trap to the point shown on 
the plan, giving it a uniform grade to the trap of not 
less than j£ inch per foot. The house drain must not 
be laid beneath the cellar floor, unless the location of 
fixtures in the cellar or basement, or the drainage of 
yards, cellars, or areas requires it to be so laid. Make 
necessary changes in direction by curved pipes, and all 
connections by Y branch pipes and y& or T V bends. 
From the points shown on the plan, branch pipes of 
extra heavy cast-iron to be connected with the drain 
pipe to receive the soil and waste pipes, the rain-water 
leader and the connections from the area, cellar, and 
yard drains. 

All of said branch pipes to be of the diameter herein- 
after described and as shown on accompanying plan of 
cellar drainage. 

Where hand-holes for cleaning are provided on the 
house drain or its branches or their traps, or on the 
house drain trap, proper ferrules with screw covers will 
be used and made gas-tight. 

V. — Surface Drainage, Etc. 

All yards, cellars, areas, and light courts will be prop- 
erly guarded by the owner and drained as hereinafter 
specified. The traps for all such drains will be placed 
inside the cellar wall and made accessible. 



204 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

Cellars will not be connected with the house drain 
unless absolutely necessary ; dry cesspools being used 
where practicable. If connected to the house drain, 
running traps with cut-off valves and proper water sup- 
ply will be provided for each connection as follows : 

The will build in each yard, cellar, area, and 

light court where shown on plans a brick cesspool or 
catch basin x x made water-tight if sewer con- 
nected ; and the plumber will set Over each a 
strainer and make connection therewith as specified. 

Provide and set where shown on plans inch extra 

heavy cast-iron yard drain, connecting with house drain 
and trapped by inch running trap. 

Provide and set where shown on plans inch area 
and light court drains connecting with the house drain 
and trapped by inch running trap. 

If found necessary to prevent dampness, the owner 
will make the cellar and foundation walls impervious 
thereto by means of asphaltum or coal-tar pitch and 
cement. 

Subsoil drains will be provided where necessary. Their 
construction, trapping, and special provision for main- 
taining their trap seal will be as follows : 

VI.— Upright Soil, Waste, Vent, and Drain 
Pipes. 
Soil-Pipes. 
For each water-closet or line of water-closets and 
adjacent fixtures, as shown on plans, provide and set 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 205 

inch extra heavy cast-iron soil-pipe, connecting with the 
house drain by aY branch and }i or ^ bend and extend- 
ing in full calibre 2 feet or more above the highest part 
of the roof or coping. If near a light-shaft or other 
ventilating opening extend the soil-pipe feet above 

it. The soil-pipe to have inch Y branches for 

water-closets, and Y branches for other fixtures where 
shown on plans. 

Connect with above described Y branches inch 
iron pipe for iron water-closet traps, short lengths of 
4-inch lead pipe for earthenware water-closet traps, and 
short lengths of inch lead pipe for other fixtures. 

Waste-Pipes. 

Provide and set, with proper connections for each 
basin, bath, sink, urinal, wash-tub, or tier of same, where 
shown on plans, inch extra heavy cast-iron waste- 
pipe, connecting with the house drain, and terminating 
above the roof in the same manner as soil-pipe ; said 
waste-pipe to be not less than 4 inches in diameted from 
below the roof upward. The waste-pipe to have 
inch Y branches on each floor ; and each of the set 
fixtures, where shown on plans, to be connected there- 
with by short lengths of inch lead pipe. 

All branch soil and waste pipes must have fall of not 
less than ^ inch per foot to the pipes into which they 
discharge. 



206 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

Vent-Pipes for Water-closet Traps. 

Set for all water-closets and as shown on 

plans, inch extra heavy cast-iron vent-pipe, connect- 
ing by short lengths of lead pipe not less than inches 
in diameter, with the crown of each water-closet trap, 
and inches in diameter for traps. Extend 

the main vent-pipe above the roof in the same manner 
as the soil-pipe, and enlarge it to 4 inches in diameter 
from below the roof upward, or connect with the soil- 
pipe above the highest fixture, as shown on approved 
plans. 

Said vent-pipe to have inch T branches on 

each floor. 

Vent-Pipes for Other Traps. 

Set for traps of all other fixtures, as shown on plans, 
inch extra heavy cast-iron vent-pipe, connected by 
short lengths of lead pipe inches in diameter, with the 
crown of each trap. Extend the main vent-pipe above 
the roof separately, in the same manner as the soil-pipes, 
and enlarged to 4 inches in diameter from below the 
roof upward, or connect with the waste-pipe above the 
highest fixture, as shown on approved plans. 

Said vent-pipe to have inch T branches 

on each floor. 

There will be soil, waste and 

vent pipes extended above the roof of each building. 

The arrangement of all pipes throughout the building 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 207 

will be as direct as possible, and all unnecessary offsets 
must be avoided. 

All vent-pipes will be graded so as to discharge water 
collected by condensation, and connected at the bottom 
with the drain, soil, or waste pipe, as shown on plans, 
and in such a manner as to avoid obstructions from 
accumulated rust. The bowing of vent-pipes must be 
avoided. 

Whenever practicable, all pipes and traps will be left 
so that they may at all times be readily examined and 
repaired. Where they are necessarily placed in par- 
titions or recesses in walls, they will be covered with 
face boards which will be fastened with screws, so as to 
be readily removed. 

No caps, cowls, or bends will be affixed to the tops of 
pipes opening above the roof, but in tenement-houses 
the opening of each will be protected by a strong wire 
basket securely fastened thereto. 

All pipes above an extension roof will be extended 
above the roof of the main building when otherwise 
they would open within thirty feet of the windows of 
the main building or of an adjoining building. 

The joints between all pipes and the roof will be made 
water-tight by heavy sheet lead flashings or 

Roof Drainage. 
The will provide leader outside 

the house, of galvanized sheet iron inches in 



208 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

diameter ; and the plumber will connect same with the 
house drain by a inch extra heavy cast-iron 

pipe, extending feet above level and a 

inch extra heavy cast-iron running trap so 
placed beneath the ground or inside the cellar wall as to 
prevent freezing. 

The will provide leader in- 

side the house, of extra heavy cast-iron, inches 

in diameter, to be trapped at the base, if it opens near a 
ventilating shaft or window, and the plumber will make 
the joint between said leader and the roof by means of a 
brass ferrule and lead or copper tube properly connected. 

When there is no sewer connection the 
will connect the leader above specified by inch 

with the street gutter or 

Safes and Safe Waste-Pipes. 

Underline all with sheet lead safes, 

of pounds per foot, with edges turned up at 

least inches, in a secure manner, to prevent over- 

flow, each safe to be properly graded to the safe waste- 
pipe. Connect all safes with a inch 
pipe, discharging either into an open sink or upon the 
cellar floor, as the Architect may direct. The branch 
pipe from each safe to the main safe waste will be 
inch pipe. 

Water-closets inclosed by wood-work will be provided 
with enamelled iron drip trays. 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 209 

Refrigerator Waste-Pipes. 

Line the spaces shown on plans and as prepared by 
carpenter, with pound sheet lead and connect 

each by a inch branch pipe with a 

special line of refrigerator waste-pipe. Said pipe to be 
inch pipe, so arranged as to discharge 

over a properly trapped and Croton-supplied sink, in 
set not more than three feet above the floor, 
and so placed as to be convenient for ordinary use, and 
with the end of the pipe covered by 
In tenement-houses the refrigerator waste-pipe will be 
extended two feet above the roof. 

Provide over each outlet of the safe waste-pipes, and 
of each outlet from the refrigerator waste-pipes a strong 
metallic strainer. In no case will a refrigerator or safe 
waste-pipe be connected directly with the house drain or 
sewer, or with any pipe which connects with the house 
drain or sewer. 

There will be line of refrigerator waste-pipe 

and lines of safe waste-pipes in each building. 

VII.— Traps. 

Trap every water-closet, urinal, sink, basin, bath, and 
every wash-tub or set of tubs, and all other sewer-con- 
nected fixtures effectively in the manner shown on the 
plans ; the traps to be as near the fixtures as practicable. 
The traps will be so arranged that in no instance will the 



210 PLUMBING REGULATIONS 

waste from a fixture pass through more than one trap 
before entering the house drain. 

The inside diameters of traps will be as follows : 
For Water-closets, inches. 

Urinals, " 

Sinks, " 

Basins, " 

Baths, , 

Wash-tubs, *' 

All traps will be of the same weight and thickness as 
their corresponding branches. They will be well sup- 
ported and set true with respect to their water levels. 

Special precaution must be taken to secure perfect 
joints between water-closet traps placed above the floor 
and the branch soil and vent pipes for same. Cast-iron 
traps must have lead-calked joints. 

Proper floor plates must be used with earthenware 
water-closet traps and the joints made permanently 
secure and gas-tight by means of bolts and red lead, or 

The vent-pipe connections for earthenware traps will 
be made permanently gas-tight by 

VIII.— Water-closet Cisterns. 
The will put up, over each water- 

closet a cistern x x ; 

and the plumber will connect the same with the supply 
pipes by inch lead pipe, and with closet 

bowl by inch lead pipe arranged for the 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 211 

proper flushing of the closet, and leave the whole in com- 
plete working order with the necessary chain and pull or 

In no case will a water-closet within the building be 
flushed directly from the Croton supply pipes; and the 
water from cisterns which supply water-closets directly 
will be used for no other purpose. Where water does 
not rise to water-closet cisterns they will be supplied 
from a house tank, or pumps will be provided to properly 
supply the same ; said pumps to be so placed, arranged, 
and connected as to enable tenants using the water- 
closets to conveniently secure at all times a proper flush 
for each of said water-closets. 

Discharge the overflow pipe from each water-closet 
cistern into the bowl of the water-closet. In no case will 
it discharge into the soil or waste pipe or into the drain 
or sewer. 

IX.— House-supply Tank. 

Provide and set on a tank for drinking 

water, to hold gallons, lined with 

, and constructed of 

Make all necessary connections with supply and house 
pipes as specified under Water Supply (page 213). 

Provide a inch overflow pipe and a 

inch emptying pipe, each to be discharged as follows : 

Provide a tell-tale pipe and 

The discharge or emptying and overflow pipes will not 
be connected in any way with any soil, waste, vent, or 
drain pipe. 



212 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 



Pumps. 
If the pressure of the Croton be found to be insuffi- 
cient to supply any fixture or any water-closet tank, pro- 
vide and set up a pump, to supply 
house tank or pumps for each 
and make all necessary connections 
as specified in detail under Water Supply (page 213). 

X.— Number, Location, and Description of Fix- 
tures. 

Supply and set up in complete working order the fol- 
lowing fixtures of the pattern and kind hereinafter de- 
scribed ; the exit pipes to wash-basins, bath-tubs, wash- 
tubs, and sinks to be provided with strong metallic 
strainers : 



o 

E 



o 

E 



Water-Closets. 

Urinals 

Wash-Basins . . 
Bath-Tubs .... 
Wash-Tubs — 

Sinks. 

Pumps , 

Refrigerators. . 



PLUMBING REGULATIONS 213 

XL — Water-supply Pipes. 

The plumber will grade each line of supply pipe so 
that it can be completely emptied at its lowest point. 

Water pipes in exposed places will be packed by the 
with mineral wool, or other substance 
equally good, to prevent freezing, and will be properly 
boxed and cased to the satisfaction of the Superintend- 
ent of Buildings. 

The will excavate for and the 

will insert inch tap in street 

main, if necessary. 

The plumber will connect tap and house supply at 
point indicated on the plans by inch 

lead pipe, to weigh per foot, to be 

laid feet below curb level. 

Also place a stop-cock at to shut off 

the water when necessary. 

Description of quality, diameter, and weight of supply 
pipes to fixtures. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Acid, soldering 64 

Air pipes, joints of 99 

Alcohol torch 34 

Alloys 18 

Ancient trap 71 

Adee trap. 84 

Antill's trap 86 

Art of plumbing 7 

Automatic cistern 1 50 

" closets 138 

Back outlet wash-out closet 138 

Bag trap 87' 

Balance valve, Latham's 1 14 

Baldwin, Latham 105 

Ball valves .' 89 

Basin wrenches 36 

Bath, needle 1 54 

" shower ... 1 54 

" tub, ideal 153 

" tubs 152 

" tubs, setting 152 

Beaumont's brass trap , 80 

" flushing cistern 148 

Bell traps 86 

Bench vise . . 38 

Bending pins 27 

Bends 66 

" joints, etc 46 

" set-off 68 

" split 66 

Billings' pipe bender 66 

Blast torch 34 

Blown joint 49 

Blow-pipe 35 

" solder 20 

Board of Health 175 

Boiler, collapse of 163 

" connections , 162 

" kitchen 160, 162 

" pressure 164 

Bossing sticks 24 

Bower sewer gas trap 76 

(214) 



INDEX 215 

Boyle's cut-off 166, 167, 168 

" pneumatic closet 133 

Brace, the 33 

Branch joints 56 

Brass trap, Beaumont 80 

Brick trap 71 

Buchan's grease trap 96 

Burner pliers 38 

Caleb W. Durham 107 

Calipers 28 

Calking chisel . . . . 26 

" joints 104 

Candlestick 23 

Cape chisel 41 

Casting iron pipe 102 

Cast iron pipe 101, 197 

" lead cn-trap 85 

" " traps ., 85 

Cellar, fixtures in 100 

Cement, iron 105 

Cesspools and sewers 199 

Chamber, flushing 133 

Check valve . . 163 

Chipping knife 41 

Chloride of zinc 64 

Circulation of water, defective 172 

" of hot water 1 60 

Cistern, automatic 1 50 

construction of - 147, 148, 149, 1 50 

" periodical flushing 1 50 

" section of 149 

Cisterns 147 

" water-closet 210 

Clamps . 48 

Cleaning waste pipes 1 57, 158 

Closet, Boyle's pneumatic 133 

crystal 133 

geyser 133 

" surf 135 

" tidal wave 1 33 

Closets, automatic 138 

old style 122 

Cloths, wiping 51 

Cold chisel 41 

Collapse of boiler 163 

Color of lead 13 

Combining weight of lead 13 



216 INDEX 

Compass saw 31 

Compasses „ 28 

Complete drainage job 169 

Connection, sewer 113 

" soil pipe 1 30 

Connections of double boiler 165 

Connolly's glass trap 88 

Construction of cistern 147, 148, 149, 1 50 

Copper bolt joint 48 

" hatchet bolt 26 

" pointed bolt 25 

Crow, the 39 

Crystal closet 133 

Cut-off, Boyle's 166, 167, 168 

Davies, P. J 115 

Defective circulation of water 172 

Defects in iron pipe 102 

Diameters of lead pipe 15 

of soil pipe 99, 1 84 

Directions for making V-trap 73 

Double boiler, connections of 165 

" " section of 164 

" edged saw 31 

Douche 1 54 

Drainage job, complete 169 

Drain, main 100, 1 1 5 

" pipe joints 184 

Drawings and plans 178 

Dressers 24 

Drift plugs 44 

Drills, ratchet 39 

Du Bois trap 81 

Dummies s 68 

Durham, Caleb W 107 

Durham's patent 107 

Duster 42 

Earthenware pipe 200 

Elasticity of lead 13 

Elbows, any angle 65 

Elbow, square 64 

End cutting pliers 37 

Evaporation of traps 90 

Expanding metal 19 

Faults in iron pipe 106 

Files 42 



INDEX 217 

Fine solder 20 

Firmer chisel 42 

Fixtures in cellar 100 

Flange taft joint 60 

Flap valve, position of 113 

" valves 1 87 

" traps 113 

Flushing chamber 1 33 

" cistern, Beaumont's 148 

Flush-pot 144 

Fodder of lead 14 

Force cup, rubber 39 

Fresh air pipe 101, 182 

Furnaces 33 

Fusing point of lead 13 

" points 18 

Galena 12 

Galvanized iron pipe 171 

Gas pliers 37 

General directions 195 

Gerhard, Paul 89, 1 2 1 

Geyser closet 133 

Glass trap, Connolly's 88 

Grease box 29 

" in traps 95 

" trap, Buchan's 96 

traps 95, 142 

" trap, Tucker's 96 

Half w trap 72 

Hammer, plumber's 43 

Hand-holes 182 

Half w trap 182 

Height of water supply 171 

Hopper, union pedestal 137 

Horizontal soil-pipe joint 103 

Hot and cold water system 167 

" water circulation 160 

House-drain 181 

" sewers 200 

Hub and spigot joint 103, 1 10 

Hunch trap. 83 

Ice, cause of breaks 62 

Ideal bath-tub 153 

Independent soil-pipe system 108 

Interior W. C. compartments 179 



218 INDEX 

Iron cement 105 

" pipe, defects in 102 

" " faults in 106 

" " galvanized 171 

" how cast 102 

" pipes 1 80 

" soil pipe, repairing 112 

Jennings trap 86 

Joint, copper bolt 48 

" hub and spigot 103, 1 10 

" made with torch 61 

Joints and bends 46 

branch 56 

" calking 104 

" drain pipe 184 

Joint, slope 59 

Joints, names of 46 

" quantity of lead in 105 

" of air pipes 99 

Joint, putty 63 

Joints, rust 105 

" screwed 107 

" soil pipe 103, 1 84 

" square 56 

" taft 59 

"■ vent pipe 184 

Joint, underhanded 53 

" wrought-iron pipe 109 

Killed spirits. 64 

Kitchen boiler 162 

" boilers . , 160 

" boiler, section of 162 

" sink 145 

Knife, chipping 41 

Ladles 26 

Latham, Baldwin 106 

Latham's balance valve 114 

Laws of 1881 175 

" of 1 887. 191 

Lead, color of 13 

" combining weight 13 

Leaders 189 

Lead, elasticity of 13 

" fodder of 14 

" fusing point of . . . 13 



INDEX 219 

Lead, malleability of 13 

" oxides 11 

" pipe 14,198 

" " diameters of 15 

" " length of coil. 15 

" " tables of sizes, etc 15, 16 

" " weight of 15 

" poisoning 14 

i* protoxide 13 

salts of 12 

sheet 17 

" soil pipe 101 

" specific gravity of 13 

" sulphurets 11 

" symbol of.. 12 

" tenacity of 13 

" to harden 20 

" and zinc, to mix 20 

" to increase tenacity of 20 

" traps, cast 85 

use in plumbing 11 

Looking-glass 27 

Main drain 100, 1 1 5 

Malleability of lead 13 

Mallet 42 

Man-hole 100 

Measuring tape 43 

Melting points 19 

Metals and alloys , . . . 18 

Moulds, tack 41 

" solder 40 

Monkey wrenches ... 35 

Names of traps 70 

Needle-bath 1 54 

New York Trade School 9 

Nitro-benzole 117 

Objections to wrought-iron soil pipe 108 

Offsets 183 

Oil of aniseed 117 

Old style closets 122 

Operation of vents 118 

Osborne, C. S. & Co 45 

Oval lip traps 94 

Oxides of lead .• 11 

Painting soil pioe 102 

Paul Gerhard 89, 1 21 



220 INDEX 

Pedestal hopper, union 1 37 

Peppermint test 115 

Periodical cistern 1 50 

Pipe cutters . . . 38 

" fresh air 101 

" galvanized iron 171 

" lead 14 

" tongs 36 

" vent 130 

" vise 38 

" wrenches 36 

Pipes, bursting of 62 

" testing 184 

" vent 206 

" waste , 205 

" water-service 171 

" water-supply 213 

" weight of 185 

P. J. Davies 115 

Plan of sink 142 

Plans and drawings 178 

Pliers 37 

Plugs, drift 44 

sand 44 

Plumb bob 30 

Plumber's bag , 22 

" hammer 43 

" solder 20 

" tool 22 

Plumber s Trade Journal 10 

Plumbers, registration of 175 

Plumbing Regulations i'74 

Plunger closet 1 20 

Pneumatic closet, Boyle's 133 

Poisoning, lead 14 

P or half- w trap 85 

Porcelain slop sink 146 

" tubs 157 

Position of flat valve . 114 

Pot hooks 30 

" traps 141 

Pressure, boiler 164 

Principle of siphonage in traps 90 

" of water-closets 120 

Private sewers 200 

Protoxide of lead 13 

Pumps 212 

Putty joint 63 



INDEX 221 

Quantity of lead in joints 105 

Ratchet drills 39 

Refrigerator waste pipes 209 

Registration of plumbers 175, 177 

Regulations, plumbing 174 

Repairing bursts 62 

wrought-iron soil pipe 112 

Reservoir, storage 133 

Rigid soil pipe 1 1 1 

Roof drainage 207 

Round irons 25 

Rubber force-cup 39 

Rules and Regulations 177 

Rust joints 105 

Safes 208 

Sanitas sink 145 

" trap 77 

" water-closet 123 

Safe waste pipes 208 

Salts of lead 12 

Sand plugs 44 

Screw-driver 43 

Screwed joints 107 

Section of cistern 149 

" of double boiler 164 

" of drainage system 174 

" of kitchen boiler 162 

" of sink 143 

Sediment pipe 188 

Set-offs 68 

Setting bath-tubs . . 152 

Sewer connection 113, 180 

11 level 171 

Sink, kitchen 145 

" plan of 142 

" Sanitas 145 

" section of 143 

" strainer 144 

Sinks o 141 

Siphon , 1 34 

" trap , 69 

Siphonage in traps 90 

Shave hooks 24 

Shaving for joints 50 

Sheet lead 17 

" weight per square foot 17 



222 INDEX 

Shower-bath 154, 155 

Side cutting pliers 37 

Slope joint 59 

Slop sink, porcelain 146 

Smoke test 117 

Snips 32 

Soil cups 29 

" or tarnish 50 

" pipe connection 130 

" " distance from ventilation, etc 99 

" " joint, horizontal 103 

" " " upright 103 

" " joints 103, 184 

" " thickness of 102 

" " lead , . . . 101 

" " painting 102 

" " rigid in 

" pipes 97 

" pipe, wrought-iron 107 

Solder 18 

Soldering acid 64 

" irons 25 

Solder-making 18 

" moulds 40 

Specifications 194 

Specific gravity of lead 13 

Splash stick 51 

Split bends , 66 

Square elbow 64 

" joint 56 

Stock, support of 100 

and dies 38 

Stop-cock . 172 

Storage reservoir 133 

Strainer, sink 144 

Street pressure 173 

Subsoil drains 179 

Sulphurets of lead 11 

Sulphuretted ether 116 

Support of stock 100 

Surface drainage 203 

Surf closet 135 

Symbol of lead 12 

Tables of sizes, etc., of lead pipe 15, 16 

Tack moulds . . 41 

Taft joints 59 

Tank 167, 172, 189, 211 



INDEX 223 

Tank pressure 173 

Tap borer 28 

Tape, measuring 43 

Tapping the main 171 

Taps, screw 39 

Tenacity of lead 13 

Test, pepperm int 115 

" smoke 106 

Testing soil pipe with hammer 102 

" with water 105 

Tests 199 

Test of pipes 1 84 

The Durham House Drainage Co no 

Thickness of soil pipe 102 

Three-quarter c/vtrap 85 

Tidal-wave closet 1 33 

Torch, alcohol 34 

" blast 34 

Trap, Adee 84 

" ancient 71 

" Antill's 86 

" bag 87 

" Beaumont brass 80 

" Bower sewer gas : 76 

" brick 71 

" Connolly's glass 88 

" half c/3 72 

" hunch 83 

" Jennings , . . 86 

" P or half u: 85 

" Sanitas 77 

Traps 69, 186, 209 

" bell 86 

" cast-lead 85 

" evaporation of 90 

" U-trap 70, 82 

" Du Bois 81 

" flap 113 

Trap, siphon 69 

cn-trap 87 

" " cast lead 85 

" three-quarter c/> 85, 182 

Traps, grease 95, 142 

" names of 70 

" oval lip 94 

" pot ; 141 

Tubs, porcelain 157 



224 INDEX 

Tucker's grease trap 96 

Turn pin , ..'...■ 23 

Underhanded joint 53 

Union pedestal hopper 137 

Upright soil pipe joint 103 

Valve closet 120 

Valves, ball 89 

Ventilation 179 

" of traps 13 

Vent pipe 130 

" " joints 184 

" pipes 187,206 

Vents 118 

operation of , 118 

V-trap, directions for making 73 

Vise, bench 38 

" pipe 38 

Washer cutter 32 

Wash-out closet, back outlet 138 

Wash-tubs 156 

Waste-pipes 205 

" " cleaning 1 57, 1 58 

Water-closet cisterns 210 

" " Sanitas 123 

" closets 1 20 

" " principle of 1 20 

" defective circulation of 172 

" pressure 168 

" service pipes 171 

" supply " 213 

" test . 98, 105 

Weight of pipes 185 

" of lead pipe 15 

Wiped joint, preparation of 49 

Wiping cloths 51 

Wood chisel 44 

Wrenches, basin 36 

" monkey 35 

Wrought-iron pipe joint 109 

" " soil pipe 107 

" " " objections to 108 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS £ 

[0 021 218 288 6i 



